Mother 3 Point 5: Resolution
by SL the Pyro
Summary: The world has become a chaotic place. Psychokinetics are hunted, and they hunt others in turn. With war consuming the entire world and evil lurking in the shadows, only a boy with the power of Formless PSI can save a world that doesn't want to be saved.
1. Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere, Verse 1

**A/N:** Hi all, it's time for another attempt at an epic, fan-made conclusion to the canon MOTHER series. After much brainstorming between chapters of my SSB:B-fic _Doomsday_, I think I've found another formula that might just work. The fan-conceived parts of it will be somewhat obvious and it's a far cry from my usual writing style, but this time I've made absolutely sure it fits the continuity. While not intentionally disturbing, this story is still quite dark and will contain graphic violence, so keep the little ones away from this.

*exhales deeply* Now... once more with feeling. Here we go.

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**_Mother 3.5: Resolution_**

_Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere_

_Verse 1_

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_Now continues a story... of humans and aliens... a tale of two peoples, so different, and yet so similar..._

_Their fates first intertwined in a moment of terror, when a pair of loving humans were presented a spectacle of almost mythical proportions, when an alien, a child, had literally crash-landed in the vicinity of their home. The hearts of the humans were big and non-discriminating, and thus they took the poor child in as their own. They couldn't have known that this single act of generousity had begun to turn the wheels of fate..._

_A month had gone by before the alien race whom the child belonged to came in search of him. In that time he and the human couple had become quite attached, and intrigued and thankful for this safety, they didn't have the heart to separate them. However, their kind held great secrets which they couldn't allow to be revealed, and thus the only choice was to take the child, the man and the woman with them to their home. Despite the odd circumstances of the abduction, they seemed not to mind, in fact they were interested in visiting a new world. There they would learn the alien's secret: what they called "Psychokinetics" or "PSI," the power of the mind. It was of no surprise to anyone that the humans would be intrigued by the mysterious mental power, however it lead to something that even amazed the aliens; the humans could learn this power as well. It lead to an interesting relationship between the human couple and their abductors._

_However, the wheels of fate continued to turn, and their chains pulled at the humans. They pulled them in the direction of Earth. Indeed, as time went on, they yearned for their old home, yearned for those there that they missed so dearly. However, now that they knew the alien's secrets, they couldn't simply leave, in fear of their knowledge falling into the wrong hands. But while the aliens pressed this warning unto them, they didn't heed it. Throwing law and caution to the wind, they attempted to escape the alien civilization, leaving the distraught alien child behind. However, only the male made it back to humanity. The woman was never heard from again, and the man was a broken and beaten shadow of what he once was. He began to study the secrets of PSI on his own in seclusion, until suddenly... he disappeared again, this time never to return. The happy couple soon faded into history..._

_Time went on, and the aliens observed the people of Earth with a deep bitterness and anger that the human couple had left them with. Their judgements of the human race led them to believe that they were savage and greedy, and the knowledge that they could now have their secrets was a heavy burden on their shoulders, especially that of the alien child. They didn't know what to do... it was only when eighty years later when that same alien child, filled with rage and spite towards humans for being abandoned so, spoke up with the only viable solution: systematic and covert termination of all the humans with their stolen secrets. And the child himself swore to do it. The beginnings of the attack were subtle and imperceptible to the humans, controlling the weak-minded creatures on the planet to do his bidding. Then he would send out his own forces, machines built for the sole purpose of destruction. But eventually, the attack was thwarted... by none other than the grandchild of that happy couple, and his friends, with a song. It was a song that was sung to him by the boy's grandmother, a lullaby meant to sooth him to sleep. The song was both mentally exhausting and physically painful to hear again, to the extent that the young alien was ultimately forced to retreat. The aliens were flabbergasted to see their champion return in such a pitiful state. And despite all of this, the effort of the couple's grandchild and the battle with the alien was never known to the humans..._

_Another century later, the alien, no longer a child, allowed his rage and spite for the human race to build up and grow until he planned another attack. A full-scale invasion this time, no longer after select humans, but believing that they were_

all _dangerous, a sentiment echoed by the rest of his kind. He was coming to destroy them all. And mid-way into the invasion, just like before, he found his efforts stalled by a group of children not unlike those led by the happy couple's grandchild. By this point his rage had boiled over, and not willing to let the humans best him again, he decided to use his ultimate weapon: a forbidden machine meant to amplify his power to unfathomable levels, at the risk of irreparably damaging his body and mind. But he cared not; he aimed to complete the task at which his forces failed, and wipe out those children and the rest of humanity himself. He let the machine fuel his power and desire for vengeance... and true to the warnings, he was horribly transformed. The final result was something far beyond what humans would describe as an "abomination." A being representing the hatred and fear of the entire human race. An embodiment of pure evil. And even then... the children did not falter. They charged into battle, and despite the numerous odds stacked against them, the vengeful alien was finally defeated._

_For the aliens, concern and terror hung over them like a thick blanket when news of their champion's demise reached them. Their ultimate warrior and their ultimate weapon had failed them. The humans had become too powerful them to handle, and they feared that with their existence announced to humanity with the invasion, that they were on the brink of interplanetary war. Their compromise was something completely radical and unexpected, something that the humans couldn't possibly have been prepared for..._

_The day their plan was enacted was a terrifying moment for the entire human race._

_It was an experimental project of the aliens, called the "Planet Container." It was a massive construct, even bigger than the Planet Earth itself: a hollow sphere, made to simulate the ecosystems and atmosphere of the target planet perfectly, allowing them to live as if nothing happened... the only difference being that those contained inside may never, ever leave. The moment the Planet Container closed around the Earth was the last that the aliens were ever heard from again._

_Despite the finest and most stubborn efforts of the humans, they could not do anything to the Planet Container. They could not damage it. They could not move it. When they realized that they were permanently trapped, the Earth descended into chaos. The humans who practiced PSI were blamed for this disaster, and those humans eventually began to revolt in response to the prejudice. It wasn't long before the entire planet was plunged into civil war... a war that would never reach the rest of the universe, just as the aliens had hoped for._

_This is where our story leaves off, in the midst of this great war..._

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"So many apples! Are we gonna make apple pie?"

Ah, the innocence of youth... "Sure."

"Yay!" the young, hyperactive six-year-old boy cheered, carelessly hefting a bag of apples that almost had to be as big as he was. It was almost amusing to see him swinging it around so easily for a person his age.

"I hope we have enough for the week... what with the stores closing down..." said a more mature boy to his left, taller and roughly in his teenage years, carrying two bags of assorted foods and drinks. Both of the children had short, black hair, and had an obvious height difference due to their age. What stood out was their clothing... or perhaps lack thereof. They weren't really clothes, more like rags. Enough to keep them decent and keep them warm at night. Oh, how he wished he could do more for them...

"I'm afraid we'll have to manage." said the one in between them, listening to them... an old man, so old that his face was wrinkled to the point that one might mistake it for a rubber mask. All that remained of his hair was on the sides forming a circle around his head; the rest of his forehead was bald, disheveled and spotted. He was shorter than the teenage boy and somewhat pudgy, and utilized a wooden cane to help him walk. "But I'm sure we'll pull through, we always do. We're just lucky they were having a sale this late at night." Lucky indeed... at least there were still some people in these slums that remembered what generousity was. He was happy that there were good people left on this Earth other than himself... or at least, that's what he liked to think.

Regardless of their run of luck tonight however, they were careful. The slums held more bad people than they did good, and they wanted to make it home as quickly as possible. They took the usual shortcut, through an alleyway a couple of blocks away from the store they had bought their groceries from. That was when the young child noticed something quite peculiar that stood out in the alleyway. Ever curious, he said, "Eh? What's that?"

"Hmm?" the old man hummed with intrigue, looking where the child was pointing. It was a dull-green in colour, but reflected quite brightly under the light of the fake moon... he thought it to be a discarded garbage bag at first, but when he saw that it had been torn and fashioned in a way that it was wearable, it caught his interest. He decided to take a closer look, and the teenage boy walked alongside him, as if protecting him.

It turned out not to be necessary though. The chances were that the one wearing this trash bag trench coat was a thief or a pickpocket; such types of people made these alleyways home. In this specific case, however... the subject was a young boy. Not much younger than the teenage boy. All that could be seen of him was his frazzled blonde hair and the tormented expression on his young face.

But the old man looked at him with much more interest... as if he could see something they could not. It almost made him want to smile, but given the seriousness of the situation, he did not. "This boy is in pain..." he informed his escorts.

"Should we take him with us?" the teenage boy asked.

The old man nodded. "Yes. There's no reason for him to stay in such a place." he agreed. "Help him up onto my back, carefully now."

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It wasn't too long of a trip after that. The children waiting at home were quite worried about them during their brief outing, but greatly relieved when they returned. This was normal, and they had every right to be concerned with the neighbourhood as it was. But it certainly wasn't normal for them to be carrying someone with them, a face they hadn't seen before. The younger children showed curiousity. The older children showed suspicion. But everyone showed concern.

"There's no need to worry, everyone. He's just fine." the old man assured them all, holding his hand up to silence them all. "But he'll need some rest in a real bed, though. So while Timothy and I prepare a room, I want you all to prepare for apple pie."

As the little boy held up his bag of apples to show to everyone, the younger children erupted into a chorus of cheers. It was a long time since they'd had any proper food, and it made them excited. The old man chuckled to himself. How he longed for the years when he was younger, when he could see only the light in the world like these youngsters could... but alas, those days were over, and his remaining ones were numbered. So while the little boy delivered the apples so they could get started with cooking, the old man and his teenage escort made their way to the stairs.

The house they lived in was a relatively small space, but it had been refurbished to be liveable for all of the eight children and the old man himself. The teenage boy named Timothy offered to help him up the stairs, but he politely refused; he wasn't totally helpless yet. Nonetheless he followed, having only an inkling as to why the old man insisted upon it. Typically when they were alone, it lead to more... serious discussions.

Timothy closed the upstairs door behind him, and the old man carefully lowered the blonde-haired boy onto the nearest unoccupied hammock. This single, dark room was filled with them, divided by curtains with two hammocks to a space. Four for the youngsters, four for the teens and one for himself. Showing signs of exhaustion, the old man willed himself into the rocking chair in the centre of the room, a place he used either to relax or to entertain the little ones with stories. Timothy looked at him with pity. He used to be such a strong man... but even the strongest of people age and wither with time... losing their power.

Seeing no more need for the garbage bag the boy wore, Timothy removed it from him carefully so that he wouldn't be abruptly awoken. Beneath it was clothing that was hardly fit for the damp, cold alley he had chosen to sleep in, a simple t-shirt and denim shorts. The yellow and orange stripes on the shirt and the blue threads on the shorts had become dull and colour, and they both had numerous tatters. It was obvious that these clothes were long past their prime. As for the boy himself, his skin was pale, and his hair was messy and greasy. He probably hadn't had a decent meal or bath in days. If he did have a body odour though, it was masked by the scent of the trash bag.

Wanting to break the tense silence, Timothy decided to speak his mind. "This isn't a normal boy, is he?" he asked.

He looked to the old man, and he wasn't at all surprised but nonetheless unnerved to see that his usually squinted-shut eyes were now wide open, and glowing with alternating and fluctuating shades of red, yellow and blue that would hurt to look at if they were any brighter. His mysterious gaze was fixated on the boy. Then, the glowing stopped. His eyes returned to their normal state, and he wore his trademark, wide grin. "Not even close, Timothy. This boy has the ability to use Formless PSI."

Even in the darkness of the room, it was easy to see that Timothy's jaw had dropped. It took him a moment before he could find anything else to say. "You're _sure _you're not going senile, right?" he accused.

"Oh, maybe... I _have_ been waiting for this moment long enough to have driven me batty." the old man admitted. "But I promise it's true, this boy definitely has Formless PSI. I could never mistake it for anything else." The old man slipped a hand into his ragged jacket, if one could even call it a jacket, and pulled something out of it. It was a mid-sized, black pocket book. Most men his age would carry something like a bible, but this book held a significance all on its own. When Timothy saw it, he knew the old man was deadly serious. He knew what the book was, and he knew that there were only two reasons it would _ever _leave his interior pocket. The first was simply to transfer between coats. The second was to give to a certain individual... a certain individual with the ability to use Formless PSI that he had been waiting for. "I hate to throw the poor boy into this mess, but now... he's the only hope this world has left." he continued. He extended his arm to hand the book to Timothy. "Please, when the time comes, give this to him. Make sure he guards it with his life."

With a hesitant nod, Timothy took the book from him, and for a moment he could only stare at its black, hard cover. This was a great responsibility both he and the boy were being entrusted with. This book contained secrets that would lead to a great power, a power that in the wrong hands could bring upon a disaster like nothing ever seen before. But in the _right _hands, it could be the thing that saves this world from what it's become...

"Timothy..." the old man rasped, spooking Timothy for a moment, At first he thought he was angry that he hadn't put the book away and quickly stuffed it in his pocket, but it turned out to be something else. "You must know what this boy's presence means. The day has come..."

Timothy's face turned a ghastly white. "The day" had come? The old man had been speaking about "the day" for a long time. He was a man who had presumably seen the future... it was for this reason he knew about the boy. And also that it meant the old man's time was near an end. In the surprises of this evening, he had forgotten this crucial fact.

"This place will no longer be safe soon. When the dead of night comes, I want you to take him the children and get them to safety. Long enough to let the children enjoy their meal, but no later than midnight."

The air around Timothy had become unsure, depressed. The old man had expected this, quite honestly. "You're sure there's no way to help you?"

"...I'm sorry." was his only reply. "This is as far ahead as I've seen. If you stay, and the enemy is a powerful one, more powerful than even me. If you stay, you'll only die with me."

"I... understand." Timothy slowly said, trying to fight back tears that were threatening to well up in his eyes. It made him feel so wretched and inept... to _know _this was coming, only not to be able to do a goddamn thing about it. But he'd remain composed in front of him. There would be time to mourn later. "It's been an honour to serve you, Sir."

The old man closed his eyes and smiled. "Timothy... you're the most trusted out of everyone under me. I know you won't let me down."

It rekindled his faith a bit, to hear that from his commander. He always got the job done. Not once had he betrayed the trust of the old man, and until his last breath he swore he never would. Timothy owed him that much.

With much on his mind, Timothy excused himself and went downstairs to aid the children in cooking supper, provided he could even enjoy the meal now. The old man sighed. He was leaving his people with a great burden to carry, and he was simply too weak now to shoulder it himself. What he wouldn't give to relive his glory days just once in this nightmare of a world... but he knew it was impossible. He wasn't getting any younger. Soon, either by time or by the hand of the enemy, he was going to pass on. So the only choice that remained was to pass his responsibilities onto a younger generation. His only wish was that it didn't involve extending this poor child's suffering... but he didn't know that for sure. The boy might find a home in this world, people to care for him, to give him a reason to live and fight. He could only hope and pray...

"The fate of the world rests with you from now on... Lucas..."

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It wasn't every day that people were treated to such a surreal sight, and in a world such as this, the term "surreal" was not used often. The two people walking down the streets of the shopping district were revered by some, but feared by all for many different reasons. One was a tall, lanky man who wore an outfit not at all unlike that of a modern-day detective. Brown dress pants, a lengthy brown jacket with a white, buttoned shirt underneath, and a simple brown hat that did well in shadowing his eyes. This man was feared for his political power, known for being cruel and merciless. The one walking with him was much more eye-catching however, if only for the fact that a dazzling, silver light covered the person's figure. So dazzling in fact that it hurt to look at. The only reason one would know it was a person was the silver, waist-length hair. This one was feared for the power at its command, power that had made many, many people meet an untimely end.

To see these two beings in these simple, backwater slums was a terrifying surprise to everyone that night. People inside of their homes locked their doors and shut their window blinds if they hadn't been already. People still outside rushed into their homes or hid in the nearest convenient spot. Those with no other option either pressed themselves flat to the walls to stay out of their way, or curled up into the fetal position so they were less likely to be noticed.

But there was one person in the slums that night that wasn't satisfied with running and hiding. This person, like some others, had a serious bone to pick with these two people, and wouldn't be satisfied until they were made to suffer. Donning a cloak as black as the night, he peered out from one of the back alleys. He was fairly large, but his muscles weren't what he planned to use. As the two people walked past, he extended his hand out. Sparks began to crackle out of the bare hand, sparks that were gradually getting bigger. Before long his hand was covered in crackling and snapping electricity. When he felt the time was right, he leapt out of the alley and quiet as any man could be, and went to jam the electrified hand into the back of the lanky man's neck.

_Shiich_!

The attacker didn't even get within five feet of his target before he was impaled. Not by one, but at the exact same moment by two silver, shining blades, held by what seemed to be no one and nothing, the ends sticking out of his back dyed red with his blood. One went through his stomach, the other through his heart. The pain must have been excruciating if the opened-mouthed, agonized expression on his face was any indication, so much so that he couldn't even scream. Nor would he get the chance, for the blades then sliced through either side of his body, one to the left and one to the right, before returning and slicing through the other side. The screams then instead came from the horrified onlookers, watching the three eviscerated portions of the man's body fall to the ground.

The keen-eyed observer would note that the person bathed in silver light had stopped moving while the blades performed their gruesome work, and only resumed walking when the blades moved into the light. The lanky man, on the other hand, kept going as if nothing had happened. But if his face wasn't shadowed by the girl's dazzling light, people would be able to see his wide grin of amusement.

Their leisurely walk stopped only when they reached their destination, a blackened, dilapidated-looking building that had only two floors. The old man's orphanage. "Life-form scan complete." spoke the being covered in light. It was a woman's voice, not sounding much older than that of a teenager. It would sound like the voice of an angel if it weren't robotic and monotone. "One life-form detected. Psychokinetic aura readings confirmed; located on the second floor. Estimated threat level is SS."

The lanky man's grin only widened more, to the point where one might mistake his face for that of a hyena. "Just like I thought. He's definitely here." His voice was only a little bit deep for the age of thirty he appeared to be, lazy and hissing with a sinister intent. "Keep watch out here. I'd _hate _to have any interruptions like back there..." he ordered without so much as a backward glance at his escort.

"Acknowledged."

The man was growing excited. With a powerful thrust of his boot, not even bothering to try the doorknob, the rotting door was broken open and swung around into the wall with a loud _bang_. Hands tucked into the exterior pockets of his jacket, he went inside and inspected the surroundings. The house was much more pleasing to the eye on the inside, and he could clearly see this since the lights were left on. While there was little that could be done about the appearance of the walls, the ceiling, floor and various furniture looked almost perfectly fine. Cutlery and plates were left on the dinner table, some even with uneaten food. He swiftly picked a piece of what appeared to be an unfinished piece of pie and chomped off a small part. Apple. And still warm. And yet there was no sign of the little children who had dined in here. _"The old codger must've shooed them away. Knew I was coming..."_He couldn't say he was surprised. He always had this way of keeping one step ahead...

Deciding not to waste any more time getting to the confrontation, he lurched his way up the stairs, taking two stairs at a time instead of one simply because his long legs allowed it. Carefully balancing himself on the top step, he again kicked down the door in his way in the hopes of spooking the old man. The calm voice that awaited within belonged to a man that was anything but spooked, however. "Come on, you're older than I am. Don't you know how to knock?" came the weathered, almost amused reply from inside the second floor room.

There, right there, was the reason he was here. He only briefly regarded the curtained-off sections of the room and the unoccupied hammocks inside, and then gave the old man rocking in his rocking chair his undivided attention. The "younger" man's arms left his jacket, and he gave him an open-armed shrug. "Sorry, just couldn't wait to finally bring you in." he replied smugly.

The old man chuckled, almost laughed. "Maybe if I heard that from the President I'd believe it, but I know you quite a bit better than that."

The edges of the lanky man's mouth curved upwards into a sinister smile and he chuckled... and then his body arched backwards as a bellowing, cackling laughter echoed out of him. When he managed to recompose himself, he looked at the old man with excitement. "Well then, I'll just go ahead and cut to the chase..."

There was hardly any warning before he thrust his arms at the old man's rag jacket, encountering no resistance as he opened it wide and peered his head inside. When he saw that there was nothing of value hidden inside, in fact nothing at all, his mouth curved into a disappointed frown. The old man only grinned and told him casually, "My mind hasn't _totally _gone. I've already given it away."

The man chuckled before looking the old man in the eyes again, narrow, golden pupils almost boring into his faded purple ones. He regained his ghastly smile. "Making things hard for me until the very end, hmm? That's what I like about you... you keep things interesting." he cooed. He then let go of the old man's jacket and stood up straight again. "But as they say, all good things must come to an end... I'll just have to pry the info out of your mind before you roll over and die."

The old man only smiled wider. "Go ahead and try." he challenged.

The lanky man cackled again, _greatly _amused. "You don't really think you can stop me with that withered husk of a brain, do you?" he taunted.

"Oh, of course not." the old man agreed. "But I'll bet I can give you one hell of a headache."

A sinister chuckle from the lanky man was the last verbal response that came out of either of them. The room was soon alight with bright glows emanating from both of their eyes. The old man's, a shifting aura of red, yellow and blue. The lanky man's, a gaze of alternating shades of red and black. _"So he's really going to resist with whatever life is left in that bag of rotting meat..."_the lanky man thought.

The only visible signs of a struggle were the lights coming out of their eyes, but there was so much more happening. Their clash of power was so intense, that the room itself started to shake...

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For Timothy, midnight was coming much too soon. Explaining to the orphans that they had to leave without going into exactly why was a difficult and awkward task. Understandably the younger children were willing to do as they were told, but the older ones were a little wiser and more pensive about just _leaving _their home that they had known for three stressful years. Timothy had promised to explain everything to them when they were in a safe place and no sooner than that, and while this visibly frustrated the teenagers, they would just have to put up with it. They would understand after everything was done... Timothy could only hope.

They were a good distance from the orphanage now, about five blocks, and the further away they got, the less comfortable they were getting. The still-sleeping blonde Timothy had to carry on his back was somewhat symbolic of the burden he was left with, he thought. He really wished he'd wake up already. He wasn't heavy, but he'd have trouble protecting everyone if he had to piggyback this boy at the same time.

"You still haven't told us where we're going, Tim." reminded one of the teenage orphans, a brown-haired girl with pigtails. She was known for being rather stuck-up.

"And I keep telling you, now isn't the time for questions, Lanette." Timothy replied curtly, trying to keep his temper in check, a task the girl named Lanette was making very difficult. This was the fourth time she asked.

"Well that's too fucking bad!" she snapped back at him, stomping the ground with her shoe. Her sudden outburst caused everyone to stop and look at them both, much to Timothy's dismay. "We're going out in the middle of the night in a place where all sorts of creeps sneak around, leaving our grandpa behind, and you haven't even told us _why_!" she screeched. Now everyone was looking solely at Timothy, even the children, clearly wanting an explanation. "I am not moving one more _step_until we get some ans-"

She didn't even get to finish, or if she had, no one had been able to hear her before the scene descended into chaos. There was the unmistakeable sound of an explosion from not too far away. It was so powerful that not only did it shake the paved ground they stood on, but they could feel the shockwave from it like a bass note through their chests, so intense that everyone was knocked off of their feet. For a good mile, glass was shattered, the few cars in the slums had their alarms set off, and buildings close to the blast had been knocked off of their foundations. People were lucky if they could hear Timothy's shout of "_Jesus Christ_!" over the ringing in their ears.

But that wasn't the main part of the spectacle, for from ground zero, a display of light cut through the darkness of midnight, as if to spite the false sky above them. It was a tower of light crackling with red, yellow and blue in the centre, with a very visible red outline on the outside. It shot straight up like a laser, and it kept going... kept going until everyone could see that it actually connected with the walls of their ridiculously oversized prison. Visible flashes of light, explosions from the looks of them, starting to spread out from the point of impact. The tower of light soon faded, but the damage it did to the Planet Container carried on, spreading out like cracks. It was clear that damage had indeed been done when they moved across the false moon, becoming lined with black spots along the image.

Finally managing to get his breath back, Timothy shakily got to his feet, vaguely aware of a warm sensation on the back of his neck... damn, was he bleeding? No, it felt more like... breath. Obviously he wasn't breathing out of the back of his neck. The boy must've been awoken by the explosion. Hell, who _wouldn't _have been woken up by that?

"Is everyone okay!" he shouted to the orphans, trying to use a higher volume to overcome the deafness they must have sustained. He looked around, and much to his relief and surprise, everyone was getting up. From where he was standing he could see that they took a few cuts and bruises from getting knocked onto the hard pavement, but otherwise they seemed to be just fine. Relieved only for a moment, he turned back to Lanette, who was also standing up and literally shaking in her outworn boots. "_That's_ why we're leaving. Now stop shaking and start _running_!"

No sooner had he shouted at her did she take off like a bullet, going in the direction Timothy had initially pointed out to them. One look from the angered teenager was all it took for the rest of the orphans to follow suit and chase after her. He would follow shortly after, just taking a moment to look back in the direction of the explosion of light... he knew it was from the orphanage, and he knew what it meant.

"Damn... you weren't kidding when you said you wanted to go out with a bang, old man..." he lamented, before turning on his heel and pursuing the others. Like he told himself before, there would be time to mourn _after _they were to safety.

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At ground zero, there was nothing indicating that there used to be anything where the orphanage once stood. It looked more like the plot had been used by locals to dump their trash at. The buildings on either side had to be at least ten feet off of their original positions, and looked in worse shape than the orphanage had originally.

Across the street, the silver-lighted girl exited the house she had been blasted into through the hole she had made upon entry. If one could see her face, it would appear completely stoic, devoid of emotion. She moved towards the wreckage of the orphanage, looking at it intently as if looking for something. When she found that something, she stepped over the ruins towards it.

But she hadn't had the chance to even bend down to get it before it moved of its own volition. A hand shot out of the pile of wood, blowing whatever shrapnel was in its way far into the sky. The brown sleeve around that hand was visibly torn and had blood leaking out of it. That hand then clamped down on the nearest solid piece of wood it found, and the entire, lanky owner of that hand pulled himself out. He was a mess, battered and bleeding all over. There wasn't a single part of his body or clothing that wasn't bloodied or tattered in some way. And yet for some bizarre reason, his hat had managed to stay on his head.

He seemed to completely disregard his company, looking straight forward at another body that had fortunately managed to land on top of the wreckage unlike him. The body of the old man that had dared to contest him was in even worse condition than he was. He was covered in blood and torn clothes just like him, but one of his arms and one of his legs were bent in fashions nature couldn't possibly have intended. And his head was... another matter... to put it into perspective, it looked like a bomb had exploded out of the top of his skull.

That last part was the first thing the lanky man took note of, and when he realized what it meant, he was _furious_. Any hopes of probing his brain for information were now completely pointless; a destroyed brain was about as good a destroyed disk drive. The old man was useless now, and this didn't fill his lanky nemesis with a great sense of joy. With a mighty kick, there was a sickening rip as the remains of the old man's head were forcefully removed from its body, flying through the air like a soccer ball. "_Senile old bastard_!" the lanky man shouted in rage. He wasn't just here for personal reasons, the old man had very valuable information he needed, and he went so far as to effectively take his own life in order to protect it... "Damn... all that work put into finding him, gone to waste!" Then he started to stumble forwards, a sudden wave of weakness passing through him and disrupting his usually-perfect balance, compounded by his head throbbing harshly. _"_Damn_, he did a number on me... even gave me that headache he promised..."_

"Multiple injuries detected. Sir, you require medical attention." his shining companion stated.

"Forget about it, I can take care of myself!" the lanky man snapped back as his head whipped around to face her. "You have other things to do. The old man always kept a bodyguard with him. Get your squad moving, find him and _bring him to me_!" he ordered. "But first, kill his stragglers! We can't chance any of them being latent Psychokinetics! Tear these slums apart until they're found!"

"Acknowledged." the girl said, before she started walking down the street opposite in the direction they had arrived from.

The lanky man watched as she left, before turning back to the old man's decapitated corpse. Despite his rage, he couldn't help but grin. "Well... is our game still on, or is it all fated to end in these slums? Guess we'll find out~"

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As per Timothy's orders, he and the orphans still ran. They still didn't know what was happening. First they snuck out of their own home, then there was that huge explosion of light, and now they were running – presumably for their lives – through the slums that they lived in. The sounds of their shoes and boots clapping and echoing against the pavement and their heavy breathing made it sound like they were like a small army marching, onto a battlefield where shots of gunfire rang out. The Planet Container was still displaying the effects of that phenomenon, the psychedelic crack-like lights still running along its interior, still causing explosions. It was only now that they started to hear them, and only barely over their own noise.

"Wh-what's going on! Why am I on your back!" the blonde-haired boy cried, clearly not content with this chaotic situation and hanging onto Timothy's shoulders for dear life.

"No time for questions! Just hold on tight!" Timothy replied to him, before turning his attention to the others. "Keep going, guys! We're almost there!"

"Where is 'there?'" Lanette asked.

"Outside of the slums! People are waiting for us there!" Timothy answered, finally giving his companions _some _information regarding this surprise marathon... though still frustratingly little.

But further down the street, something threatened to put that marathon to an abrupt end. Out of one of the left-side alleyways, one, two, three people clad in silver marched out and turned to face them in disturbingly perfect unison. The silver colouring in their appearance was, in fact, full body armor, covering them from the tips of their toes all the way to their helmets. Held in both of their hands were equally-silver... guns. High-caliber rifles with elongated bayonets, audibly and visibly cocked and then pointed at the orphans, like a firing squad. The only thing not silver on these things were their visors, a singular, bright red iris in the middle surrounded by inky black. Their sudden and menacing appearance brought everyone to a halt.

"_Shit_!" Timothy cursed aloud, ignoring the boy on his back for a minute and bending down to reach into his boots... pulling something out of both.

"Target acquired." All three of them said at once, again all at the same time. They looked like they were about to shoot...

Three loud _bangs_ echoed throughout the streets... but the smoking barrels they originated from did not belong to the ones holding the rifles. In fact, those three were no longer standing, stumbling either backwards or forwards from having their heads literally exploded to pieces. It wasn't as gory as one might expect, as instead of blood and brain matter flying in all directions, it was pieces of shattered armor and sparking machinery littering the ground around them. They were shaped like humans, but they definitely _weren't _humans. They were machines. But then who was the one responsible for their destruction? All the terrified eyes of the orphans turned to Timothy, who had guns of his own pointed where the robots were standing. High-caliber revolvers, each with a long blade extending past the end of their smoking barrels.

"Damn it... I didn't think _they'd _be here!" Timothy growled, lowering his arms that were still shaking from the adrenaline rush.

"Holy _shit_... you're fucking Resistance, aren't you!" Lanette exclaimed in shock, partially from anger that this had been kept hidden from them all, partially in horror at how easily he had dispatched their would-be attackers. "I knew it! I fucking _knew it_!"

Timothy shot her a stern glare and countered, "Yes, I _am_ Resistance, which means I'm your only chance of getting out of here alive! You have no right to complain!" Lanette promptly shut her mouth. "Now _keep running_! Keep running and whatever you do, don't stop!" There was no more convincing needed on anyone's part before they were off again. He turned to the horrified blonde and said, "You too, kid! I can't protect everyone with you hanging off my back!"

"O-okay!" the boy stammered, hopping off his back and rushing ahead with Timothy back to the others. It briefly crossed his mind that perhaps the boy could be very helpful now that the situation had changed; the old man _did _say he was a Psychokinetic. But given the nature of the enemy and just how precious the boy was supposed to be to Earth's future, it might not be wise to reveal his hidden potential to his friends or the enemy just yet. No, for now Timothy decided to treat him just like he would the orphans and protect him with his life.

And there was no shortage of threats to that life. More silver-clad robots similar in appearance and handled equipment to the previous three began to emerge from the various alleyways along the street, either from behind or in front of the fledglings. Timothy decided to take care of the ones that barred their path first, doing his best to keep the way clear; it was a good thing that he was taller than the people he was saving, it meant they weren't in his line of fire. He took periodic, brief glances at the ones behind him, firing on those who got too close. He had to keep ahead of them, because they moved faster than him. But Timothy could tell it would be an ultimately futile effort. _"Damn! I didn't think there would be this many this fast!"_he thought in panic as adrenaline pumped through his veins again, barely able to regard that within the last minute or two, he'd had to shoot down a total of ten robots, and there were at least another ten behind him. It did not help that his ammunition was limited. Not only was it difficult to reload a revolver while moving, or without free hands, but his aim was also suffering because he had to keep moving.

Meanwhile, the blonde-haired boy was making his own observations of the enemy as he ran. He looked at them before they were rendered junk. If the orphans or Timothy had been staring at him in their panic, which they were not, they would've noticed that his eyes were glowing a vibrant green. He was turning this stare on any active robot, as if he were trying to find something. _"No emotion... not even blood... but they look so human...!"_

Another robot leapt out from the alleyway nearest Timothy, recognizing him as the immediate threat, wielding the bayonet of its rifle with the intent of skewering him. Timothy was quick to react, blocking the incoming blade with the one on his own revolver, and then shot the would-be assassin away with the other. He then heard another coming from behind him while his back was turned, but was much less stealthy. That one found himself with a gun-blade in his head, cracking the visor before a round from the barrel that gun-blade belonged to blew it to pieces. Timothy had kept track of the shots he used up to this point and knew the gun chambers were empty, so he stuck closer to the orphans while reaching into his ragged jacket and pulling out a handful of bullets. He cursed under his breath as his less-than-graceful reloading action allowed him to drop a couple of shells before he could cram them all into the chamber of the left revolver, but four was definitely better than none.

That slight moment of delay would cost him. A pair of robots came out in front of the orphans, one from each side of the street. Timothy shot one down, another headshot, but the other was quick to retaliate, and he could not bit back the scream of agony as he felt the rifle round tear through his left shoulder. Knowing he wouldn't be able to fire the loaded revolver with that arm, he dropped the empty one and put the useable one in his right hand, then opened fire. Two shots, one through where the heart would be and the other into the head. The orphans and the boy turned to him in alarm at the yelp he made, and gasped and screamed in horror upon seeing the large, bleeding hole in his jacket. "_Keep going_! We're almost there!" he urged them, trying to get them to ignore it while trying to ignore it himself. They just had to go a little further...!

Then, something caught everyone's attention. From behind them, something was coming, something shiny and bright, tearing through the fake night sky. That something kept going past them, and stopped moving forward only when it was in front of them, touching down to the ground slowly. Radiating silver light so intense that it hurt the eyes. The orphans, blinded by the thing, had to stop running. This time, Timothy wasn't as bothered that they had stopped, but instead was less inclined to go forward himself now. In an instant his blood felt like it had turned to ice, such was the chill that sudden, absolute fear provided. He was afraid, because he knew what had dared to get in their way. "Shit..."

The light died down slightly, allowing everyone to see just what the shining thing looked like. It was a woman not much older than Timothy was, her long, silver hair reaching down just past her waist. The armor the person was an equally radiant shade of silver, thin-looking and not covering the upper arms, upper legs or the stomach. Obscuring her face was a visor similar to that of the other robots, but without the single red eye and without the helmet part, letting her hair move freely in the wind. What appeared to be eight long blades were sticking out from behind her, patterned in some kind of star shape. "Target acquired." spoke the light in an eerily calm, monotone voice, almost like a robot. "Subjects determined to be the missing orphans from the orphanage of Resistance Leader 'Old Man.'"

Timothy managed to shake off his fear for a moment, stepping in front of the terrified orphans, prepared to defend them with his life. "You just can't let me catch a break, can you..."

"New arrival. Subject identified as Resistance Lieutenant Timothy McGuiness. Common company of Resistance Leader 'Old Man.' Threat level B. Current bounty: $20,000,000." she said, very much acting like a robot too. She then replied, "My directive is not to let you 'catch a break.' As a member of the Resistance, you are an enemy of the world that must be terminated." Timothy's expression was decidedly solemn. He didn't speak as he reached into his jacket and pulled out more bullets, ignoring the pain from moving his arm as he made sure to fully load the revolver this time.

But while he appeared calm and collected, boldly standing up to this apparent enemy, the blonde-haired boy could tell that he was anything but. He didn't need psychokinetic powers to feel the utter dread radiating off of him. But what terrified him even more was the enemy itself. _"She's... psychic! Is she... just like Brother!"_his mind screamed, horrible memories flooding back to him. He took a step backward, but could hear the footsteps of the other silver-clad robots coming from behind him and yelped in fright.

Timothy knew right then, without even looking backward, that they were surrounded. There was no escape now, and he knew it. He sighed in defeat and said, "Fine, you finally caught me..." He looked back to the orphans with apparent sorrow in his eyes, worried about what would become of them... he turned back to the light and pleaded, "Just... let the children go... take me instead..."

"Negative." Timothy's jaw went completely agape from surprise. Her response had no thought behind it, no hesitation. "Your capture is a secondary objective. My primary objective is the immediate termination of the orphans."

"Wh... _what_!" Timothy, Lanette and the blonde boy shouted in shock and utter terror. The rest could only wail, unable to fathom why _they_ would be the main target in the presence of someone with such a large bounty on his head.

"Subjects were under the care of Resistance Leader 'Old Man.' The possibility that the subjects are latent Psychokinetics cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, you are already unable to escape and pose no threat to my objectives." she explained. "Do not resist."

The orphans huddled together, afraid of what would happen. But when Timothy took a moment to find his inner rage, he decided to ignore her observations regardless of how apt they were. "Like _hell _I won't resist!"

There was no more warning before he pulled the trigger, six consecutive times, every bullet aimed for a different part of her head. But he couldn't possibly hope that even one shot made it to its intended destination, and sure enough, they did not. Four of the blades had come off of her back, floating in front of her in a cross formation, a wall of silver light pulsing from the tips of the blades. The bullets that Timothy fired were on the ground, half-crushed from what only could've been impacting that wall of light. "Pointless."

The wall of light faded, allowing two of the blades that formed it to return to her back, while the other two flew with lightning speed and impaled Timothy both in his right leg and his only good shoulder. The impact had knocked the wind out of him, a strangled gasp his only reply as he fell backward to the ground. His companions screamed in horror. "_Tim_!" Lanette wailed.

The robot girl started walking towards them, and when they tried to back off, they realized it was futile due to the robots behind them, weapons aimed at them. The situation was only getting bleaker with every step she took. "Be grateful my orders are to apprehend you alive. A fortune not shared by the orphans you swore to protect."

"D... _damn you_...!" Timothy coughed, trying to get up, but then the blades pushed harder, embedding themselves in the pavement below him. Now he was trapped. She herself just walked past him.

Almost all of the orphans coward in sheer terror, all but one. "You _bitch_!" Lanette roared, displaying quite a bit more athletic ability than she did previously by bring her foot up to robot girl's face, but her rage-induced attempt at self-defense was for naught, as it never actually reached her face. It was instead stopped by a blade that flew off of her back, impaling that foot and forcing a blood-curdling scream out of her as the force sent her spinning to the ground. The agony wasn't helped when the blade twisted upwards, also embedding itself in the hard pavement so that Lanette was also stuck. Another blade flew off of the robot girl's back, slowly, pointed directly at her helpless body...

"Begin termination."

Many emotions were running rampant through everyone there. For Timothy, the shame and disappointment that he couldn't even protect these people. For Lanette, the utter horror her like was about to end. For the orphans, the grim, gut-wrenching fear that came from the knowledge that they would be next.

"_Stop it_!"

But from the blonde boy was the blatant difference from the rest, a kind of righteous fury building up in him as he rushed at the robot girl. His speed was surprising, and focused on her goal of "terminating" Lanette she had no time to react before his fist collided with her cheek. But more surprising was the power behind that fist, sending her flying back a good few feet, a good distance past Timothy before stopping on at her original spot... but she did not fall down. She was more... hovering in mid-air, her body keeping the position in which it had ended up after the punch. Though no one was able to notice in the chaos, the robot soldiers behind them suddenly convulsed and fell to the ground.

"How... how _dare_ you!" the blonde boy shouted in anger, and now all eyes were on him. Now they saw the green glow in his eyes, and for a brief moment they could see that the arm that had delivered the punch was glowing orange before it returned to its normal colour. "These orphans... these _children_ haven't done _anything_ to you! What right do you have to just... _kill _them!"

The robot girl started to lean upright, her mouth making a thin line. The cheek where the punch landed was a shade of red that wasn't at all subtle against her pale skin. "New arrival. Subject's identity is unknown. Psychokinetic energy detected within subject. Estimated threat level is A." she said, before finally replying to him, "I am only operating on the directives given to me by my superiors. Because of your ability to use PSI, you must be terminated, and the others afterward in the event that they may also have latent psychokinetic abilities."

The blonde boy growled. "I won't let you!" he challenged, running in front of Lanette, and then in front of Timothy, intent on protecting them, protecting all of them.

"You... are you _crazy_, kid!" Timothy shouted at the boy in clear disapproval. "Only people with a death wish pick a fight with a PSIber-"

The robot girl's blades shot out of the ground, interrupting Timothy's rant and eliciting another agonized scream from Lanette. The bloodied blades flew back to their owner. _"PSIber... is that what this thing is called?"_Despite the criticism however, the boy was unfazed. "Being a little hypocritical, aren't you?" he countered. "Whatever. Right now it's trying to kill people, and I won't stand for that!"

"But you'll be _killed_!" Timothy countered.

"I don't care..."

"But... wha... what...?" the Resistance member was left understandably speechless, along with everyone else.

The blonde boy looked back to him... his eyes weren't glowing anymore, and for the first time Timothy could see what they really looked like. His actual eye colour was a dull blue... he almost looked... sad. Soulless even. "I've lost everything I wanted to protect once... because I wouldn't fight..." He turned back to the enemy. "If I can't use this power to protect others, then there's nothing left for me to live for anyway..."

It was a scant few sentences, but they gave Timothy a glimpse into the boy's personality... and it scared him. He'd seen people like him before, people with that dreadful outlook on life and that half-dead look in their eyes. This boy himself said he had lost something very precious to him, and Timothy knew what the pain of loss could do to a man. For the first time ever, he wondered if the old man's instincts were wrong... he, for one, didn't believe someone so bleak could take on the burden of saving the world...

"Initiating combat mode." His grim fascination evidently was not shared by the robot girl called a "PSIber." The blades on her back, instead of just flying out at their target, began spinning like a helicopter rotor. Some parts of the back of her armour also extended out, looking to be an "x" shape from the front. These parts began to glow with that same silver light, and she started to hover off of the ground. "Begin termination."

The green glow returned to the boy's eyes, and he prepared for what the first move would be. There was no avoiding the fight now. He would protect these people or die trying. The PSIber started with the tried-and-true method of dispatching enemies: a barrage of her floating blades, this time launching a total of four. Tempting though it was to move out of the way, the boy remembered that everyone else was right behind him. He couldn't move without putting them in harm's way. Then he would have to make everything he did count. Just as the blades launched, he thrust his arms forward with a grunt, and they were stopped in mid-flight by some kind of wall that appeared between them and him. A protective barrier, composed of a half-dome of yellow octagons. The tips of the blades pushed fervently against the barrier, the places where they struck sparking and crackling from the force. The orphans and the Resistance soldier watched with shock and awe as her attack was stopped in its tracks.

Seeing that the attack was having no effect, the PSIber decided to up the ante. Now the remaining four blades tore through the air and impacted the shield. Now it was starting to have an effect. The force of all eight blades pressing on the barrier at once was starting to push the boy back, and he growled as he tried to resist. As he struggled however, the shield was creaking and buckling, as if the collection of octagons were a single, solid construct. More than that, those with a good enough angle could see that cuts were starting to form on the boy's hands and arms, and those cuts were bleeding. It seemed that the barrier didn't stop all of the incoming damage.

But in spite of all this, the boy persevered. With a scream of effort, he pushed forward once again, and the shield glowed with energy. All at once, the blades that had stuck into here were blown back like shrapnel from a grenade, and it was only through sheer luck that none of them struck their owner as they tumbled past her. If anyone cared enough to listen for it, they would've heard her gasp in surprise, a stark contrast to her normally-robotic actions. For the blonde boy, that moment of surprise was an opportunity. He was running at her from the moment the blades were bounced away, his skin again glowing with an orange light, and it took only a couple of seconds to reach her. His attacks were relentless. A punch to the gut, another to the previously unharmed cheek, a roundhouse kick to her exposed jaw.

The orphans began to cheer for him. "Go! Go! Get her!" "Beat her up good!" "C'mon, stay on her!"

He was going to continue as she staggered backward, but his eyes were also on the blades, and they were coming back. He jumped backward to avoid getting skewered, and instead three blades got stuck in the pavement. Then he saw another opportunity: If these blades were the PSIber's main means of offense, then he'd get rid of them. He extended his palm at them, and it began to glow with a green light. When the light left, it started to expand into the shape of a hexagon.

Timothy's eyes widened, to the point that anyone looking might they think were about to fall out of his head. "That's...!"

It was all he could say before the sound of what could only be described as clanging chimes filled the air, a noise made by the attack. The hexagon of light didn't launch at the blades, but rather other hexagons shot out of the original, each one exploding like shining, green fireworks upon contact. When the attack was over, the blades were nothing more than bits of scrap metal scattered along the ground.

The PSIber had managed to regain her balance in time to see what had transpired, and judging from what she said next, she wasn't happy. "Target has access to an unlisted PSI ability. Threat level miscalculated. Suggested course of action: terminate the company to better focus on target." Her five remaining blades readjusting into a perfect star shape in the absence of their partners, she started flying above the ground, making no effort to hide that she was going to move around the boy and go for the others. It was a brief scare for the orphans.

But the boy would have none of it, and intercepted her. She tried to skewer him again with every blade she had left, to at least move him out of the way, and even rushed at him with a hard knee. But he created his shield again, and everything collided with it. Tears were abruptly formed in the boy's shirt, but even then he stood his ground. The PSIber barely had the time to realize that she had just made a big mistake, before his right hand started to glow green again. "_Get lost_!"

The green light formed the hexagon, and before she could move out of the way, she was repelled by the shield and left helpless for a moment, and that was all he needed. The octagon shield vanished, and the hexagons fired out at point blank, several more than last time. It was a painful sight, seeing her caught in a torrent of explosive projectiles, shot up further and further into the air. She was quite a ways up in the sky before the attack finally ended, and she tumbled down from the fake sky. Those with a sharp eye could see that she was no longer shining, and she was smoking before disappearing from view behind the houses and landing with an audible _crash _from whatever she had landed on.

Seeing that the threat was gone, the boy lowered his hand and tried to calm himself down. He turned to the others, feeling very exhausted. "Is everyone alright...?" he asked, trying to ignore the pain from the wounds he had suffered. He was feeling all the cuts and scrapes now that the battle was over.

Despite the wounds he'd suffered, Timothy was trying to get on his feet. The gash in his leg disagreed though. "I've... been through worse..." he grumbled.

The boy walked towards him, kneeling down before him. "Where's the wound?" he asked. "I can fix it..."

"No..." Timothy refused. "No time. We can worry about that _after_ we meet up with the Resistance."

The boy was going to raise an argument, but before he could, he could hear footsteps. He immediately looked to the robotic soldiers, but they were still on the ground and lifeless. He turned down the street fearing that more had arrived... but they were dressed nothing like them. Their attire was basic army attire, green battle armor complete with the bowl-shaped helmet and rifle strapped to their backs.

Upon recognizing them, Timothy smiled. "Or... they can come to us. That works too..." he corrected himself, greatly relieved as he lay back down so he wouldn't aggravate his wounds further.

When the orphans realized what Timothy meant, they were literally jumping for joy and running towards them. The teenage ones went to help up Lanette, who was still complaining about her leg, and the immobile Timothy, while the younger ones went to congratulate and thank the boy... who was about to fall over from sheer exhaustion. They caught him in concern, and one of them asked, "Are you alright!"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm... okay..." he replied tiredly. "Just a little tired..." Hoping that the danger was over now, he allowed himself to rest in their arms. _"I haven't done that in a while... I guess I'm a little rusty..."_ he thought to himself, but he nonetheless smiled. _"I'm just glad I could finally protect someone..."_

He finally fell unconscious, and the little children could think of nothing to do other than carry him towards the oncoming Resistance members, who seemed more than happy to take him off of their hands. It was the same case with Lanette and Timothy who were unable to move on their own without great difficulty.

"Lieutenant McGuiness." spoke a gruff voice from in front of him. The speaker was a _huge _man, looking somewhat like a black-bearded Santa Claus in an army uniform, with a special insignia pinned to the left breast of the jacket that looked like the Earth. In place of a rifle like the other soldiers had, he had what appeared to be a massive chaingun on his back, and a menacing, spike-studded gauntlet was worn on each of his massive hands. "Looks like yah had a bit o' trouble."

Timothy managed a weak chuckle. "Oh, you don't know the half of it... you're a sight for sore eyes, Heavy." he replied.

"Heavy" grinned broadly. "Ah'll bet. Now get goin', medical crews 'er waitin' at the end o' the slums."

He and the orphans carrying him were more than happy to follow the order. As they marched on, Timothy caught a glimpse of the sleeping boy who saved his life, cradled in the arms of a Resistance soldier. He felt so dirty for doubting the old man... he was right about him. That barrage of hexagons... it could only have been Formless PSI. Whether he was as miserable as he guessed or not, he alone could be the deciding factor in what becomes of Earth. And he seemed eager to protect everyone, even those he didn't even know...

He smiled to himself. Maybe this world wasn't up the creek after all...

* * *

**A/N:** Sweet merciful crap, the prologue on its own is 11,016 words total. I'm surprised it ran on that long.

So yeah, the story has begun. I'm still not entirely sure what direction I'll take with it, so chapters probably aren't going to come out quickly, especially if they're all around this length. But rest assured, I've wanted to do this for a long time, so even if I don't update for a while, don't dare think that I've cancelled it. I've planned out the plot to work perfectly with the canon MOTHER/Earthbound storyline, so this time I'm going to go from start to finish.

Until next time, ladies and gentlemen. Don't forget to review!

P.S.: I'm not at all fond of the story title. If anyone can suggest a better one, please do!


	2. Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere, Verse 2

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter, introducing one of the ways that this story will be different than the usual song and dance. Instead of normal chapters, they will be broken up into sections a la _Super Paper Mario_ and _Bayonetta_. I believe the proper term for a segment of a chapter is "verse," so unless someone informs me otherwise, that's what I'll be calling them.

Now that that's out of the way, let's roll.

* * *

_Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere_

Verse 2

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"Never thought ah'd see the day when yah had ta be bailed out by a kid, Tim..."

They were leaning against the wall, next to the entrance to the room where the kid in question was resting. The door was only open slightly, enough so that Timothy could peer into the room to check up on him. He seemed to be resting quite well, not having suffered any major degree of damage according to the doctors. But he noticed that the boy's eyelids were twitching in a manner that didn't look peaceful... what could he be dreaming about, he wondered? Or having a nightmare about, perhaps?

Timothy himself was faring much better than before since having his wounds treated. The miracles that PSI could perform in the right hands never ceased to amaze him... just as the disasters it could cause in the _wrong_ hands terrified him. He was now wearing a black sleeveless vest and brown cargo pants, his typical choice of casual clothing. It was a vast improvement to the rags he had to wear whilst undercover as an orphan.

Smiling in spite of the obvious jab at his ego, he replied, "I think I have a good excuse, Heavy. It's not every day you tangle with a PSIber."

"Hmm... true 'dat." Heavy agreed with him. His attire was the same as when he found his comrade on the street, except the chaingun on his back was absent. "W'at a night... 'da old man finally kickin' 'da bucket, a new psychokinetic with Formless PSI... a psychokinetic 'dat beat the living daylights out o' a PSIber no less! Ah'm not gonna have an easy time explainin' this ta the other bigwigs..."

Timothy could only chuckle at his superior's plight. As intimidating and powerful as he looked and despite being at the top of the chain of command, Heavy had a heart of gold. They were fast friends the moment the young lieutenant had joined the Resistance. "Oh, you don't know the half of it..." he muttered. "The old man thinks that kid is 'the one...'" He reached into his ragged jacket and pulled out the old man's black book. "He was so sure, he wanted me to give this to him."

Heavy could only stare at the book wide-eyed. He too knew the implications of what was hidden in its pages. "Yah don't say..." he said breathlessly. But he quickly regained himself and resumed staring at the wall across from him, and smiled to get over the shock. "I guess 'dat means this war'll be ending'soon, if 'da old man was right..."

Timothy nodded, his expression turning solemn as he turned his head to peek back to the boy again. He had turned over on his side, facing away from him... he seemed really restless in his sleep. He must be having a nightmare... "But how will he help us, though? The other leaders won't like pinning all their hopes on a little boy, will they?"

Heavy grunted, shaking his head. "'Dey hated 'da whole idea from the get-go, just like the rest o' the old man's ideas. Ah guarantee 'dey won't change 'der tune now even if it meant honourin' his sacrifice... but ah'm sure we'll think o' a way ta make it work." He grinned broadly once again before adding, "'Da old man did it all the time, so how hard c'in it be?"

Timothy sighed, leaning back against the wall and staring at the ceiling. "I really hope you're right..."

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He always came back without a scratch. No matter where he'd been, no matter what he'd faced down, no matter how dire the situation was... every time, the only thing damaged was his clothing. Never was his skin so much as bruised or scraped. It confounded everyone around him, be it fellow Government agent or beyond-qualified doctor. He appeared to be nothing but a lanky athlete in comparison to the average man, someone who should easily be torn to shreds in this war, and yet he seemed to have this amazing habit to weave around anything and everything that dared to touch him. They couldn't understand how he was so untouchable. Repeated tests showing him to have no psychokinetic ability whatsoever baffled researchers to no end. And oh, how he _enjoyed _baffling them.

That's why it was a shock to everyone that this time, his body looked less like it was living and more like it simply refused to fall to the ground and die like it was meant to. _This_ time he had come back with injuries, and the people around him were immediately curious as to what could've happened. But when he told them it was the result of the Resistance Leader "Old Man's" last stand, _then_ they understood. He was given immediate care, both with psychokinetic power and modern medicine, and within moments he was back in perfect shape and relaxing in his office. He actually _didn't_ find it ironic that Psychokinetics fought on his side, aiding in the destruction of their own kind... at least they _understood _that they themselves were everything that was wrong with the world and wanted to help fix the problem, even if it meant destroying their own.

Well, they wouldn't have long to wait. _"With the old man out of the picture, everything will be over soon... what a shame. I was enjoying our game..."_the lanky man thought to himself. There was a knock on the small, oaken double doors of his office that interrupted his thoughts. "It's open." he called out.

The right-side door opened, allowing passage to a sharply-dressed man, wearing the classic black tuxedo with a white shirt underneath and a hand-tied bow around his collar. His sunglasses dangled from his right-front pocket, and a white earphone jiggled from his right ear, which wasn't covered at all because of his bald head that lacked any hair at all. Once mid-distance from the lanky man and the office entrance, he quickly saluted. "Agent Daniels reporting, mister Vice President." he introduced himself.

The lanky Vice President nodded and motion with his hand for the agent to relax. He did so himself, resting his elbows on his desk and lowering his head onto the backs of his intertwined fingers. Agent Daniels lowered the salute, but the man in the comfortable, leather-padded swivel chair noticed that he was still very uptight. Nonetheless, the visit had been expected. "Here with the results of last night's bust-up in the slums, I take it?" he asked, listening for the reply intently.

"Correct, sir." the agent replied. "However, it was nothing like we expected."

The Vice President didn't frown quite yet, though by the thin line his mouth made, it was obvious he wasn't pleased to hear that. "They got away?"

"Yes." Agent Daniels nodded. "Several members of PSIber-Silver's unit were decapitated with well-aimed gunshots..." he began to explain. Lieutenant Timothy McGuiness no doubt. The old man's dog was faithful to him until the end. "...and PSIber-Silver herself had to be taken in for immediate repairs."

Both of his eyebrows raised, his eyes wide. Then he lowered one eyebrow and chuckled. "Pardon me Agent Daniels, but I don't think I heard you correctly. I'm sure you didn't just say she needed repairs." he replied, nonchalant.

Now the reason for the agent's uneasiness was revealed, as he audibly gulped while doing his best to stand still as he replied, "No... you heard correctly, sir. PSIber-Silver was heavily damaged. Everyone who knows is in an uproar about it..."

Government agents were trained to stay strong even in the direst of situations. Leaping to take a bullet for their superior was second nature to them, and if they had to they'd be the first to enter the bloodiest of battles. It was only though his rigorous training that he could ignore every synaptic impulse in his body _screaming_ at him to get out of that office now, when the Vice President's expression couldn't have turned scarier even if he'd eaten a bag of raw sour candies all at once. And even _then_, when he stood up out of his chair violently, he couldn't stop himself from taking a step backward.

The Vice President's orders to Agent Daniels were quick, loud and clear.

"Take me to her. _Now_."

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"I'm _telling _you, it had to have been a malfunction!"

"And _I'm _telling you, all of her systems were working perfectly!"

"Then why the devil is she on the operating table instead of having another Psychokinetic on her kill count!"

"_That's _what I'm trying to figure out, and your arguing is slowing down my search!"

That was essentially the scene in the lab where the damaged PSIber-Silver lay motionless on a cold slab of metal. All the scientists wore similar attire, the generic white lab coats with black surgical gloves, but the normality ended with the black gas masks with tinted visors they all wore. Two of them were in a heated debate of what exactly went wrong, and the other three present in the room with them, along with a squad consisting of a dozen black armor-clad security troopers in the upper walkways, could only stand back and watch the progressing argument.

The metal entrance doors slid upwards into their open position with a _hiss_, and in walked the Vice President with an exasperated Agent Daniels in tow. The three neutral researchers almost jumped out of their skin when they saw the discontent expression on his face, only barely remembering to salute him. When the Vice President was angry, you did not want to be the subject of that anger nor the object that he would take that anger out on. They knew this, and they backed away as he walked up to the arguing scientists... who had yet to notice him.

"_Ahem_!"

The sound of him clearing his throat caused both of the ranting scientists to shout "_What_!" at the one who had dared to interrupt them... then they realized who he was. If their faces weren't obscured by their helmets and visors, he would've seen the blood drain from them.

"Before the two of you start ripping each other apart..." the Vice President said, starting in a tone of blatantly-mock sweetness, though the twitching of his brow showed that he was _desperately_ trying to manage his mood. Which he failed at, as the innocence faded from his voice with what he said next. "I want an explanation as to why the fruits of your labour are laying on that operating table half-_dead_."

It took a moment for the researchers, who were scared out of their wits, to regain their composure. The first to do so was the one on the left. "D-don't worry, sir! The medics have already healed her organic matter. She looks worse than she is, she just hasn't been c-cleaned up yet." he frantically explained.

One look at her, and everyone could see that his rebuttal was a grave understatement. With her once-pristine silver armor cracked, charred a deep black and dyed with dried blood that seemed to have leaked from every orifice of her skin before having it healed, PSIber-Silver was lucky to even be recognizable. The only thing on her person either metal or flesh that looked to be in working order was a helmet with several prongs and lights sticking out of it, and _that _wasn't even a part of her, but rather an attachment to the metal slab that had wires running down beneath it for gathering data.

To the people working on her, they were thankful that she was as intact as she was, something that they thought they would never _have_ to hope for. It was a desire apparently not shared by the Vice President, who bluntly replied, "She shouldn't even _need_ to be cleaned up, doctor. The only thing she should've encountered in those slums was a bunch of helpless Psychokinetics, which she deals with _every day_. There had better be a _damned_good reason why she hasn't done her job."

As if on cue, the lights on the helmet-like apparatus on PSIber-Silver's head stopped flashing, and a _ding_ was heard from one of the many computer terminals in the room. One of the researchers who _wasn't _scared stiff hobbled over to it and informed everyone, "You won't have to wait much longer, Mister Vice President. We've just finished downloading her memory files."

Now _that_ was the kind of news he preferred to hear: news about _progress_. "Put it on screen." All attention was turned to a massive, flatscreen monitor suspended off of the back wall of the room. After a few keystrokes on the manned terminal, the screen flickered to life. First it was nothing but a dull blue, but the image quickly changed to the scene in question, viewed through her own eyes.

PSIber-Silver's perspective was much like the heads-up display of a video game, with everything related to her systems somewhere on the screen. Wireframe images of both her body and the eight-pointed formation of her blades above that were on the left, and a white, vertical bar was on the right. On the top was a simple text box listing the commands and thoughts she was having. As for what she saw in reality, everything had a silver tint that nearly offended the eyes, but not too much. The only thing with a definable colour was a red targeting ridicule that looked like a plus sign, and as it connected with the intended target it morphed into a square with a dot in the middle, and the target was surrounded with a flashing outline that alternated between red and white. In this case, the target appeared to be a little boy. One of the urchins from the orphanage, the Vice President assumed.

_Target Identity: Unknown  
Psychokinetic: True  
Estimated threat level: A_

That was the text currently displayed in the text box on the top of the HUD.

_Processing reply... complete_

"I am only operating on the directives given to me by my superiors. Because of your ability to use PSI, you must be terminated, and the others afterward in the event that they may also have latent psychokinetic abilities."

Her voice wasn't totally clear over the video feed... it was garbled to some degree. But that was normal. The boy's garbled reply came next: "I won't let you!"

_Estimated threat level suggests preparation for combat; Recalling PSIber Blade system into ready position_

Three of PSIber-Silver's blades, impaled in various people, flew back to her, Each one that returned was followed by the image of that blade on the HUD flashing twice. An argument between the target boy and one of the people who was stabbed, whom the Vice President recognized as Timothy McGuiness, promptly followed. No one paid much attention to it though.

_Initiating PSIber-Silver Combat Mode  
Initiating termination protocol_

Now the focus was on the impending battle and not so much the text box. Everyone was quite surprised to see the boy forming a barrier that stopped not only the starting four, but also the _following _four blades, and eventually repelled them. They heard her garbled gasp of surprise.

_Psychokinetic wavelength: Counter Shield_

Then everything went downhill from there as they witnessed the boy charge, getting in three good hits. With every hit, the HUD image of her body flashed red where she was struck, and the white bar on the right side decreased slightly. Her counter-attack failed, and the boy saw fit to eliminate the means of it, forming some kind of hexagon in his hand.

"Wait, freeze there." ordered the Vice President.

The video feed paused, just as the incoming blast shattered the blades. Their image on the HUD was turned permanently red with a red "x" over it to indicate that they were unusable, for obvious reasons. All eyes were on the text box again.

_Psychokinetic wavelength: unknown  
Searching databanks... wavelength not found_

"Not found!" exclaimed the Vice Presidents and two of the scientists. The worker at the terminal moved the video forward a few frames.

_Further analysis of target required, recommend termination of primary objectives to better focus on target_

"What?" the scientist who had once boasted that PSIber-Silver was not malfunctioning muttered.

"See? I told you!" boasted the other in victory. "She's supposed to take out the Psychokinetic _first_ in _every _situation no matter how it changes!"

The first scientist was quite upset that his claims of PSIber-Silver's systems working perfectly were now proven false. In an attempt to cover up his disappointment, he ordered, "Resume the feed."

The next parts of the video consisted of PSIber-Silver trying to "terminate" the other orphans, only to be intercepted by the boy and his barrier again... there they saw something quite strange in the text box:

_Target emotional wavelength: known, unknown, known, unknown  
Exception, discontinuing operation_

...And then she was blasted by another barrage of that unknown PSI type. The first-person view was nothing but chaos from there, all parts of her HUD image flashing red, a danger sign in the middle of the screen, the white bar shrinking to miniscule size, and the text box filled with jargon that would likely take a whole work day to decipher if it wasn't all error code. And then everything went black.

"...Wait, what? Emotional wavelength?" the first scientist said, confused. "Why was she checking for that just before taking that hit?"

"Better question." said the second scientist. "Why couldn't she _determine_ the emotional wavelength? I've never seen a result like _that_..."

Even the experts in the field being baffled did not sit well with the Vice President. In fact there were many things with what he had just seen that did not sit well with him, namely the unknown PSI the boy has used. An issue one of the scientists who had yet to speak had decided to address. "Maybe the unknown PSI technique he used had something to do with it when the boy used it?"

"I suppose that's possible..." the first scientist admitted, scratching his chin. "But not too likely. That would mean she would've gotten the error from when her _blades _were struck, and not her body. That's not to say it's impossible, but..."

A grumble escaped the Vice President's throat. "Whatever the problem is, you had better fix it. We have put too much time, money and effort into the PSIber Project for it to all be rendered obsolete by some little boy with an affinity for polygons!" With that last note, he turned on his heel and left the room the same way he came in, passing by the ignored-until-now Agent Daniels. "You're dismissed." the Vice President told him simply, and he wordlessly walked off through the hallway in the direction opposite him. A lot of things happened today that were not according to plan...

...And yet, when no one could see him, he couldn't help but smile.

_"Someone with Formless PSI that we missed... sly old man. Looks like you found a way to keep the game going after all..."_

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The boy whom everyone's thoughts were turning to as of late awoke with a start, his body shooting up into a sitting position. His breathing was ragged and heavy, and the lack of light in the room hid the cold drops of sweat that ran down his face from anyone who didn't look closely enough.

Frantically, almost panicked, his eyes scanned the room he was settled in. It definitely wasn't a place he'd seen before, a notably plain and unattractive square with gray, worn walls and a window that was boarded shut with thick planks of wood; the little light that shone through _barely _allowed him to see. But as foreboding as this space was... he had to admit that while he didn't like the thought of waking up in someone else's bed, he was glad to be sleeping on something meant for that purpose for a change.

Not that it meant he wasn't still tired. He wasn't a morning person, and the nightmares that constantly tormented him only added to the problem. He managed a weak yawn and rubbed the back of his stiff neck, before crawling off of the bed and stretching his other sore muscles. As much as he'd rather stay in bed, he'd like to know just where he was first. By all rights he should be in good hands after last night's events, but he'd learned to always be cautious. Unfortunately, he'd also learned that the world had a way of punishing extreme caution. He opened the door and grimaced and the horrid _creak _it made when it's weathered hinges grinded against each other.

And it did catch the attention the two Resistance members out there, who had nothing better to do than reflect and catch up on old times while waiting for the boy to wake up. The sudden, ear-violating sound startled Timothy to the point where he jumped. "Jesus...!" he muttered under his breath, shaking the shock out of his head and looking down at the child peering out the doorway. "Took you long enough. You alright, kid?"

The boy felt a little more at ease when he recognized his voice... but only a little. At least now he was with someone he loosely knew. He also remembered that he had wanted to heal this person, but looking at his new outfit, he saw nothing indicating the through-and-through stabs he'd sustained. "I think I should be asking you that... you were in really bad shape last night..." he countered.

Timothy snorted when he heard Heavy chuckle from beside him. "Eh, nothing a good doctor can't cure. Especially a Psychokinetic doctor." he explained, and then extended his hand to the boy. "Name's Timothy, by the way. Everyone calls me Tim."

The boy hesitated a bit, not sure whether to trust this person or not, but he remembered that this man had tried to protect the orphans and himself. Slowly, he took his hand, noticing the firm grip. They say a man with a firm handshake is someone you can trust. "I'm Lucas." he introduced himself. He then regarded the person to Timothy's right, which wasn't hard because he was roughly both twice as tall and twice as wide as the teenage lieutenant. "And... you?" he asked tentatively.

The large man grinned and replied, "Nice ta meet ya, Lucas. Call me Heavy." Instead of shaking the boy's extended hand however, he simply gave him a small wave. "Hope yah don't mind if ah don't shake, ah dun' know mah own strength sometimes. Ah could wind up breakin' yer hand!" he told him before laughing heartily. Lucas saw that his hand was indeed massive, at least three times bigger than his own if not more. He decided to take his word for it, not that he minded not shaking. He could tell just from the way he spoke and laughed that he was a good man despite his imposing appearance. He lowered his hand and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Umm... Tim?" he addressed the lieutenant. "Where are the others? Are they alright?"

He smiled warmly and answered, "Everyone made it out of the slums just fine, thanks to you." That made Lucas feel a little relieved. At least he was finally able to protect someone... "I can take you to them if you want. There's a lot I have to talk about with you all anyway."

Indeed, the orphans were not the only ones who wanted answers. Lucas very much wanted to know why he was sleeping in an alley one moment, then hanging off of this teenager's back, running from those robots and fighting for his life the next. "Please."

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The trip was a short one, just a couple of buildings away from the one they'd exited, but it didn't take long for the young blonde to realize where he was. As Timothy said, they were out of the slums, but they weren't too far from them, taking shelter in some abandoned buildings that were just a few blocks away. Lucas had ventured through this run-down district only two weeks ago, seeking civilization. He didn't expect it to find a town in poverty, but it was the only place he could settle into. He was glad to be out of that place teeming with criminals and other desperate or vicious types.

In that building they were heading too, the orphans waited in a large room, seated in a circle of chairs. Watched carefully by a couple of Resistance soldiers, they were wrapped up in a game of Duck, Duck, Goose. _"Only children could have so much fun in such dark times... I wish I were still that naive."_Lucas thought to himself as he walked in, followed by Timothy and Heavy.

With a wave of his hand, Timothy dismissed the two soldiers, who promptly exited the room at his command. The children's game came to an abrupt halt when Lanette, who was currently the one tapping heads and was conveniently on the side of the room where they had entered, took notice of the new entries. The hole in her shoe the PSIber's blade created hadn't been repaired, but there was no wound. She planted her hands on her hips and said, "Well it's about time! I was starting to think you dipped on us!"

"No, no, no!" Timothy waved his hand in apology. "I was just waiting for Lucas here to wake up. Apparently he's a heavy sleeper."

At the apparent jab at him, Lucas looked away sheepishly. Taking a closer look at the boy, Lanette's expression softened a little. _"He doesn't seem as badass as yesterday... in fact, he looks almost shy."_she thought. She was about to blame him for holding Timothy up, but decided against it. This kid saved their lives after all, and had to beat down a PSIber in order to do it. Yes, she could forgive him for being a late riser this time. "Lucas, huh?" she repeated his name. She then knelt down and wrapped him in a hug. He grunted in surprise and protest. "Thank you... you saved our lives..."

His body lost the tension it had just built up, seeing that she was showing thanks instead of strangling him like he thought she was going to. He knew a girl who _would _strangle him for something as minor as oversleeping, and almost immediately he could tell this "Lanette" was similar in almost every way, the only notable difference being that she wasn't a psychokinetic. He supposed that might be a good thing. But neither of them were virtually incapable of showing affection, and he liked that. He liked this girl. "O-oh... y-you're welcome, Miss..." Lucas replied, blushing as he felt a bit stupid for not knowing her name. "Um... what was your name again?"

Lanette broke off the hug, now feeling a bit silly herself. Despite being their saviour, he hadn't yet been properly introduced to the orphans, nor had they been introduced to him. She decided to fix that right away. "Lanette, my name's Lanette." she introduced herself to him. She then stood up straight again and turned to the other orphans. "You guys too, you all introduce yourself to Lucas. Starting with... uhh..." She ruffled the auburn hair of the child in the circle of chairs nearest her. "You, going clockwise."

And at her command they each said their own names, one by one throughout the circle.

The pre-teens then bowed their heads down and said in unison, "Thank you for saving us!" It was strange... for some reason, their gratitude made a foreign feeling well up inside of Lucas. Not an uncomfortable feeling though, in fact he couldn't help but smile from it, but to not recognize it right away was... troubling to him.

When the warm and fuzzy moment had passed, Timothy spoke up. "Alright then, let's get down to business. I promised you all an explanation for everything that happened last night, and it's time for me to make good on my word." he told them all, moving into the circle of chairs to take some one of three free seats. Lanette took another, and invited Lucas to the last available chair beside her. Lucas wondered where Heavy was going to sit, but after receiving a curt shake of the head from the large man that indicated he preferred to stand, he took the seat he'd been offered. "I have to warn you all though..." Timothy continued. "You're not going to like what I have to say, and I'm only doing this because I feel you deserve to know. This is Resistance business that I really shouldn't be discussing, so whatever I tell you does _not _leave this room; you have to keep it a secret. Understand?"

He received a series of nods from the orphans, some less prompt than others as they looked at each other in wonder before responding to him. _"They'd_ better _keep it a secret... the other leaders'll never let me hear the end of it if the tykes let it slip." _Heavy thought to himself. Timothy was lucky he had even agreed to this meeting, if only because he also felt the orphans deserved to know what happened to their caretaker.

"Okay then." Timothy said, sighing and clearing his throat. "You must all know by now that I'm a member of the Resistance, Lieutenant Timothy McGuiness, and not just another orphan like yourselves. You must be wondering why I've been with you all this time instead of fighting with the rest of my men." The older ones understood this immediately; they were discussing it prior to the children's game. But the children weren't that smart yet, so he knew they would need it explained for them. "The reason is that I was a bodyguard. Not for you, but for your caretaker. I didn't just call him an old man because of his looks, but because he was my Commander." He paused for a moment, thinking back on the unfortunate person. "It was more than a nickname, it was a title. Resistance Leader 'Old Man.'"

Neither Timothy nor Heavy were surprised by the shocked and outraged reactions of the orphans. "W-_what_! He... Resistance _Leader_!" Lanette stammered in utter disbelief.

"'Old Man...' the most powerful psychokinetic in the world...!" muttered a red-haired teenager to himself, but his words were still heard quite clearly as the noise died down.

"The very same, Jim." Timothy answered him. "The other Resistance Leaders all insisted that since he was the most frail of us all, that he find a way to hide himself. He decided to pose as an orphanage owner, not just to hide in plain sight, but because he felt responsible for the war leaving people like you without homes or families."

This information touched Lucas deeply. "He ignored the war... in order to help people like us?" he reiterated. "That's... that's amazing..."

"But... Tim..." Lanette said to him. "Then why did we abandon him last night...?"

That had been the question on everyone's minds since they had made their daring escape last night, and Timothy knew it would be coming eventually. His expression visibly darkened. "There are some Psychokinetics out there... that when they become strong enough, they can see things that normal people can't. How people feel, what they're thinking... even their own future." he explained. "But that's the catch: _their_ own future, and _nothing _after it. And... he told me that the moment he couldn't see past was... when he found Lucas in that alley."

All eyes were on Lucas now, while he was focused intently on Timothy. He indeed knew of this ability to some extent: he could see the emotions of others. He could feel the sadness the lieutenant was exuding. It didn't take him five seconds to figure out exactly what the lieutenant was implying, but Lanette had to ask the question. "Tim... what are you saying?"

"...He knew it was his time." Timothy said, unable to prevent a tear from slipping down his cheek. He mentally cursed at himself for allowing it to fall, hoping that he could cry in solitude, but apparently it wasn't to be. "I'm afraid the old man has passed on..."

It took the youths in the room a moment to realize what Timothy had just told them. It was now that he wished the younger children were a little more ignorant so as not to know what death was, so he wouldn't have to hear their anguished cries of sorrow. But the world had become a dangerous place, forcing people as young as them to learn the ways of the world before they were supposed to. Lanette couldn't say anything or do anything other than cry, much like the other teenagers. Even Heavy had allowed a couple of teardrops to fall from his rugged face. It was clear that he had touched the lives of many, even in the Resistance.

The only one unable to feel sorrow of his own accord was Lucas. Never having personally met the old man, he was unable to generate that pain from losing someone close. But he did know what it was like. He knew all too well, and he could feel the agony of everyone in the room. Their caretaker must have been very dear to them indeed. "You said he was... the most powerful Psychokinetic in the world?" Lucas asked. "Who? Who could've done this?"

Timothy took a moment to recollect himself, then shook his head and told him, "I wish I knew, Lucas... I really do..."

"PSIber-Silver! It had to be!" Lanette growled furiously as she wiped the tears away from her face and balled her hands into fists. "She was there to try and stop us! That means she also could've been at the orphanage!"

"It wasn't PSIber-Silver, Lanette." Timothy told her bluntly, his gaze lowered down to his shoes in deep thought. "The PSIbers are the most powerful people working for the Government, and even at over ninety years of age, the old man's PSI _still _ate them for breakfast... and I know the old man better than anyone in the Resistance. He wouldn't go down without a hell of a fight." He looked back to Lanette. "If PSIber-Silver actually tried to kill him, I guarantee there wouldn't have been anything left of her to get in our way in the slums last night."

She wanted to argue against his rant, she really did, but she knew that he was right. The Government super-soldiers that were the PSIbers excelled at their job: terminating anyone and anything that was a Psychokinetic and anyone and anything associated with a Psychokinetic. The only reason the Resistance could fight them, nay, the only reason the Resistance still _existed_ was because of the likes of the old man who could fight them off. It was a well-known fact among the Government, Resistance and even the general public. The only reason the Government hadn't been walloped soundly by the likes of Old Man was because he publicly _protested _war scenarios and thus refused to use his power for anything but protection. Lanette lowered her head in defeat. "Then... who...?"

"There's only one thing I know for sure..." Timothy continued. "Whoever did it... was really, absurdly strong. Strong enough to send a wave of PSI into the sky that was powerful enough to short out the Planet Container all over the world, something that no one has ever come _close _to doing, not even the old man on his own..." He shuddered internally. The thought of a man that powerful on the opposing side rightfully scared him. He looked back to the orphans around him, who were desperately trying to fight back their tears still. "That's why we had to leave. The old man knew it was his time to go... and he wanted to make sure we didn't go with him. If we had stayed, that explosion would've been the end of us all..."

A teenage girl with dark, blue hair that extended just past her neck slumped into her chair in despair. "And if he'd come with us... whoever did that to him would've come after us..."

The implications of the situation left Lucas breathless when he understood them. "He... sacrificed himself... for all of us..." It made him feel terrible. This old man who had found him on the street, and had saved him from this disaster... and he was _asleep_ during the time when he was still with them! He mentally cursed his malnourishment and horrid luck. "I... I wish I could've met him... talked to him at least once..." That there were still people with that selfless decency in this ravaged world... it was almost too good to be true... but if it _wasn't _true, then none of them would be here.

"I'm sure he felt the same way..." Timothy assured the young blonde. In saying that, he reminded himself that he had something to give to him. He supposed now was as good of a time as any to pass on the old man's keepsake. He pulled the black book out from inside of his military vest. "Lucas." He looked at him, curious as to what he was holding. "This book belonged to the old man. It's supposed to contain secrets of a great power." He reached across the circle of chairs towards him. "He... wanted me to give it to you."

Now infinitely more curious, Lucas accepted the book and looked at it. It was old and ratty... almost ancient, he thought. There was nothing on the front or the back of the black leather cover, and the pages looked worn and browned. The book was held shut by a strap with a worn, bronze button. "A great power..." he repeated. "Why would he want me to have something like this?"

"I don't know, really. As well as I knew the old man, he was good at keeping secrets. All I know is that the 'great power' has something to do with PSI and that the Government has been looking for that book for ages." Timothy admitted. "But if I had to hazard a guess... I think the old man wanted you to take his place."

"H-huh!" Lucas stammered, his jaw going slack. Everyone else's reaction was very much the same. "T-Take his place...! You mean as a Resistance Leader!" he asked incredulously.

"Tim, ya can't be bloody serious!" Heavy interrupted, speaking for the first time in this tense conversation. "'De other Resistance Leaders'll _never_ let _'dat _one fly! 'Da kid's not even old enough ta hold a gun!"

"W-well... maybe not as a leader..." Timothy corrected himself hurriedly. "But... as a member of the Resistance at least. Someone _like _the old man to keep us all in check." It was at that point Heavy knew what Timothy was thinking. "God only knows how the old man's passing will affect the way we do things from now on..." And now the older people in the room understood what he was thinking too. It was another well-known public fact that the old man was the face of the Resistance, and one of its only members who promoted the ideals of peace rather than outright fighting for freedom. With him no longer in play... there was no telling what the Resistance's next move would be.

Lucas himself had mixed opinions about this, as Lanette realized when the boy had a stern glare fixed on Timothy. He looked... almost _angry_. It didn't show on his face, but she could see it in his eyes. It was obvious enough to her that the young man didn't approve of the turn this conversation had taken. And honestly, neither did she. She had to speak up. "Basically what you're saying is, you want him fight in the coming war." she pointed out through gritted teeth.

Timothy cringed. He was expecting such a reaction from Lucas, not Lanette, but the stare he was receiving from the boy convinced him his thoughts echoed hers. "Don't misunderstand me. I have high regard for the boy... he saved our lives, after all." he started to explain. "But the old man had to have his reasons for doing this. Furthermore, the boy has Formless PSI; you all saw it last night. And with the old man gone, he's the last person on this Earth who can use it that isn't Government-enlisted. He's the best chance we have of turning this damned disaster around."

Despite the apparent rage he was feeling, Lucas was taking the time to sort through it and hear the lieutenant out. It was a great task that he was being entrusted with by the old man who had technically saved his life before giving up his own, and he didn't want to dishonour the dead man's final wishes. But at the same time, if Timothy was right, it meant fighting in a war he wouldn't be able to get out of, and he didn't want any part of that to start with. "I... I don't know..." he muttered.

Timothy sighed and told him, "I understand it's a hard choice to make, Lucas. We won't force you to do anything, but... please give it some thought, okay?"

Lucas' reply was short and hesitant. "...Okay..."

The lieutenant looked at his superior with a helpless expression, hoping for a way to break up this awkward and difficult moment. Heavy was looking at his watch, and fortunately for him had good reason to intervene. "It's time ta report to 'da higher-ups, Tim. Wrap 'dis up quick."

He managed to regain his stoic expression and nodded before turning back to the others. "With the old man no longer with us, I'm likely going to be called back into direct duty. If you're lucky, this'll probably be the last any of you kids see of me... so I just want to say..." he hesitated, trying not to cry again. Why did saying goodbye have to be so difficult? "I'm sorry you had to find out everything this way, and for everything that happened to you because of us and this war..." He got up from his chair and started walking for the exit, where Heavy waited for him, but then he stopped to finish what he was saying. "Tomorrow morning, a Resistance caravan will be taking you all to another orphanage where you'll all be safer. I'm afraid this is all I can do for you, and it's all the time you'll have to decide, Lucas." he explained. The tears were starting to fall again, and this time he dare not show his face to the children. The shame was almost too much for him to bare. "I wish you all well in the future. Goodbye, everyone..."

Save for the footsteps of their leaving, the room was left in silence. The exodus of the two Resistance members was a bittersweet moment for the orphans, and they didn't know how to react. "Tim..." Lanette murmured, not sure whether to hate him or feel touched by his apologies.

Lucas was another story entirely, his mind preoccupied the choice he would have to make before tomorrow morning...

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Night had come much faster for Lucas than he was used to. Perhaps it was because he finally had something to think about other than all the reasons he hated and pitied himself... there was no path in his life up until just now, and now that he was presented with the choice, he didn't know what to do.

_"Why did I have to have this shoved upon me?"_ he thought as he rested on the bed of his temporary room, eyes open so he wouldn't fall asleep, not before his decision was made. _"I feel like this should be such an easy choice, but... I don't want to get involved in this stupid war..."_

He growled, his hand coming to rest on his forehead.

_"Am I really this pathetic?"_

No, it couldn't just be that. The dilemma did have its complications. Should he choose to go along with Timothy's request and become a member of the Resistance, he would no doubt have to fight in the coming war. He would have to participate in the battles against the Government, and contribute to the deaths of so many... he didn't want to do that. Not over something as simple and idiotic as this discrimination against his own kind. He may be relatively new to this world, but he knew enough about it to understand what the war was really about. He didn't want to be associated with that mindless bloodshed. But on the other hand... what if he declined? What if he simply chose not to fight? He didn't _want _to fight...

A person's face invaded his mind at that notion. His own face. _"Brother..."_ No sooner did the word enter Lucas' head did he let out a frustrated yell as he sat up, gripping his forehead tighter and mashing his free hand into the bed. No, he couldn't simply do nothing! _"It's because I did nothing that Brother... that Brother is...!"_

His fit stopped when he noticed that he was grasping his head too hard, and he took his hand away from it. His other hand was gripping the bedsheets with such force that it numbed his fingers. He desperately willed himself to calm down, taking deep breaths. There was no point in getting frustrated, it wouldn't help him reach a conclusion any faster. But what could he do? He would kill so many if he chose to fight, and yet he didn't want to sit idly by and watch the world crumble... he'd made that mistake once before...

His panicked eyes fell to the book laying on the floor, and then he realized partly why this choice is so difficult.

_"Wow, I'm dense sometimes... worrying about getting a power I don't even know about yet..."_

This book was supposed to hold the secrets of a great power, supposedly a PSI power that he was supposed to take into the Resistance with him. The old man had entrusted him with it for a reason, didn't he? Maybe it would pay him to read up on it first. He popped the leather clasp on the book and opened it carefully, not wanting to damage the worn writings inside.

That was when something rolled out of the book... previously hidden beneath the crease that held the pages in, falling neatly in his lap. He picked it up, thinking it was just some piece of junk stuck in the book since ages past, but... upon closer inspection, the round ball he now held in his hand was a striking scale model of the Earth. The blue and green colours on it were perfect despite how long it had to have been in the book, not tarnished at all.

Now he was much more curious about the secrets this book contained...

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"Damnit... stupid, stupid idiots..." Timothy muttered angrily to himself as he walked down the halls of one of the buildings, heading in the direction of his own temporary room.

His mumblings were not unnoticed by someone who happened to be in those halls at the time. "Tim?"

"Eh?" His head shot up. "Oh, Lanette. You're still up?"

The girl shrugged, casually leaning against the stone wall to her left so she wouldn't get in his way as he walked. "Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind..." she replied. It was understandable. There was a lot for her and the other orphans to take in. "Penny for _your _thoughts?"

Feeling no need to rush, Timothy took an empty section of wall beside Lanette to rest up a bit. He needed to vent. "The chat with the other Resistance Leaders went about as well as expected..."

Lanette's lips curved into a frown. She had a good memory, thus she remembered Heavy's reaction to Lucas given the choice to join the Resistance, more specifically that it wasn't a good one. And Heavy was supposed to be the _understanding _one according to Timothy. "Am I allowed to ask what they said?"

He grunted and replied, "No, but I'm too pissed off to care right now." His eyes went back to his shoes, like they normally did when he was thinking hard. "The Leaders want Lucas to join the Resistance... but they don't want him anywhere near the commanding position." He paused, still trying to believe the group decision the Leaders had made. "They want him as a regular soldier."

Lanette nearly jumped right off of the wall she was leaning against, looking at him with wide eyes. "You've gotta be shitting me!" she nearly shouted.

"...Yeah, that's what I wished I could say to them too." Timothy sighed. "I knew this would happen when the old man went away... without him to keep order amongst the Leaders, it's going to be full-scale war against the Government. The only reason they want the kid at all is because he can use Formless PSI, but they want him as a common grunt so they don't have to worry about another peace-lover rising to power..."

It didn't take long for Lanette to figure out what Timothy was trying to say. "So they're basically saying they _want_ to go to war, and only want the kid as a weapon." she stated bluntly. Timothy just nodded. She swore she could feel the bile rising up her throat. "That... that is _bullshit_... and you're just going to let it happen?"

Timothy looked up to the ceiling, watching the void in the fake moonlight coming through the boarded up windows, a nearly pitch-black spot in the middle of a calming blue. "They've already voted on it. I don't have a choice now, and neither does he... besides, even if he _did _refuse, there's no doubt the whole Government knows about him by now..." he said with regret.

Lanette gritted her teeth and pounded the wall in rage. "This sucks... people can't do anything out of the goodness of their hearts anymore..." she ranted, then asked, "Have you told him yet?"

"No, and honestly I don't know how I'm going to break it to him..." he admitted. "I promised him he'd have a choice of what to do, but _apparently _the leaders don't like that!" he shouted dramatically. "I swear, sometimes I wish I could just shoot every last one of them..."

That last part defined the thought process of Lanette almost perfectly right now, but there were many obvious reasons why killing them wasn't a good idea. Oh how it _sickened _her, to see this sweet young man risk his life against all odds just to safe some insignificant children like them, then get carted off to a battlefield just a couple of days later. "Damned idiots are no better than the Government if you ask me..." she contributed. Timothy only nodded in quiet agreement.

Tense silence followed. The two teenagers were lost in thought for a while, pondering what could happen now...

_"I... I have to do something. I can't just let this happen."_Lanette thought. "Tell you what, why don't you take a load off. I'll tell him for you."

Timothy looked at her with surprise. "You... would do that?" he asked with hope.

She shrugged and replied simply, "Might as well. I won't be sleeping for a while, and you look exhausted anyhow."

He sighed with such relief. "Lanette, you're one in a fucking million. Thank you _so _much." he thanked her, even bowing to her. Lanette saw a chance to ruffle the lieutenant's hair when he was bent down.

He couldn't see the mischievous glint in her eye, though...

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Lamplight shining down onto the book that was laid down on the bed, Lucas was eagerly flipping through its pages. There was an almost absurd amount of content in it for something so small, but he had figured out the reason why it was that way: the book was a diary.

He was skimming the pages at first, planning on reading it in depth later; right now his focus was on the information about this "great power." He had noticed that there were three different writing styles in the diary however, which meant it was written in by three different people, and the sections they wrote in were denoted by otherwise-blank pages with only the writer's name in large caption. The first writer was "George," who had a very elegant and neat cursive style that he could barely recognize. The second writer was "Ninten," who didn't write as neatly, but had still tried to keep the letter size the same and was much easier to read. The third and final writer was "Ness," who seemed not to care about neatness and only getting the point across.

It was around Ness' writings that he found the first interesting piece of information, pertaining to the Earth-modeled stone that he was shuffling around in his left hand like a stress ball. Apparently it wasn't an ordinary rock; it was called a "Sound Stone." According to the writings, Ness had brought this stone to eight special locations located around "Eagleland." He called them "Sanctuaries." The Sound Stone, living up to its name, record a "melody" from each Sanctuary, and when he found all eight, he had taken a journey into his mind to face his inner demons and unleash the true power of his PSI. He used his newfound power to defeat an alien menace bent on Earth's annihilation – he could only assume it was the same aliens that put the "Planet Container" thing around the Earth – and restore peace.

It was ridiculous, Lucas thought, the journeys that Ness had told of in his section of the diary. But he knew it was no lie, because as he read on, the writings began to elaborate on the war he was threatening to be wrapped up in. In fact, as he skimmed, he noticed that there was a lot of mention about the history of PSI. Apparently George, Ninten and Ness were influential figures in the way PSI evolved on this Earth. He supposed that he didn't fully understand everything yet because he hadn't read the whole diary, but there would be time for that later; now he knew that the "great power" involved a drastic increase in PSI ability that only people with Formless PSI could access. Similar to his own adventures in a way...

He then understood why the old man had kept this diary with him at all times, and why the Government had been searching for it. The origins of PSI, the guidelines to acquiring great power... there was so much valuable information in here that could cause terrible disasters if it ever fell into the wrong hands. He had to guard this book with his life.

His decision was made.

He couldn't allow the Resistance _or _the Government to acquire this power. This was too much for people so intent on destroying each other. No, he would not join the Resistance.

A sudden series of knocks on his door made him jump, literally, out of his train of thought. "O-oh, come in." he called out to the guest.

The doorknob clicked as it turned, and the door opened to reveal Lanette walking in. She expected to see him asleep, but was surprised to see him reading the book that Timothy gave him. "Oh wow, you're still awake?" It was convenient for her though. She closed the door behind her for privacy.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow and replied, "I'm a bit of a night owl, I guess. Besides, there's no way I'd be able to sleep after all that's happened..."

Lanette couldn't very well fault him for that. "Yeah, there's a lot of that going around..." she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. "So, have you made your choice yet?"

She was even more surprised at the boy when he nodded to her. "I'm not going to join the Resistance."

That news both greatly relieved and greatly concerned her, but she laughed nonetheless; the boy was smart. She took a seat on the bed, looking down at the boy as he looked back down to the book. "I think you made the right decision. Why, though?"

Lucas' finger touched the section of Ness' writing that told of the eight Sanctuaries. "After looking through this a bit, apparently this 'great power' is a massive PSI boost. I mean, _really_ massive." He looked up at Lanette. "I think this is too much for either the Resistance _or_ the Government to have. I can't just let two factions hell-bent on killing each other get even _more _powerful."

Lanette absorbed the information she gave him, and remembering how absurdly strong the last owner of that book was, saw the wisdom in his words. "With great power comes great responsibility, right?" she said, and Lucas nodded in agreement. But then she remembered the information she had to tell him, and her mood instantly darkened. He noticed immediately. "I just wish it was that simple..."

His eyebrows raised. "What do you mean?"

"Umm... I talked to Timothy on the way here..." she began. "He told the Resistance Leaders about you, and they... well... they kinda made your choice _for _you..."

"What...?" Lucas gasped, bewildered. "What did they say?"

It broke her heart to have to tell him this, but... she promised Timothy she would. "The leaders aren't as understanding as Tim... they won't take no for an answer. I think they're going to _force _you to fight for them." she explained to him. "And not as a leader or lieutenant, just a common soldier."

That last bit of information was what scared Lucas the most. "A... _soldier_! They... they'd just throw me out onto the battlefield!" he howled in horror and anger.

"That's my understanding..." she said. "Apparently they didn't like the old man too much... they didn't like that he wanted a peaceful ending to this crap. They don't want another person like that rising to power..."

Now Lucas began to understand just how deep this treachery went. The Resistance was fighting against the Government to protect Psychokinetics, that much he knew from the start... but it sounded like they weren't going to settle for simply winning their freedom. They wanted _war_. They wanted their enemy destroyed, completely and utterly. "Well... now I know for sure I'm not joining the Resistance, because if what you're saying is true, then they're just as bad as the Government..."

Lanette was expecting that kind of response, but... not so _quickly_. He was definitely a timid person, but at the same time he had a surprisingly level head. _"What had this boy been through before we met him?"_ she couldn't help but wonder. She was going to ask, but she decided it was none of her business. She could find out later anyway. "You _do_ know what you're saying, right? If you dip on the Resistance, they _and_ the Government will be after you. People who can use Formless PSI are _really _rare, and they'll want you dealt with ASAP."

Lucas sat up on the bed, taking the book and closing it, doing the leather strap up to keep it closed. He then put the Sound Stone in his pocket and replied, "Let them try."

Her eyes widened. The way he said it... it sounded almost like a _challenge_, like he wasn't afraid of the two most powerful factions in the world chasing him down. Then, she smiled. She didn't know whether this kid was bold or simply crazy, but she _liked_ him. Daredevils were always exciting to be around. "_Damn_. You've got spunk kid, I'll give you that." she admitted. "But do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

That question gave the blonde Psychokinetic pause for thought. Indeed, what _would_ he do? He absolutely refused to fight for the Resistance, but at the same time he didn't want to just sit back and watch people murder each other. There had to be something he could do... he had to be here for a reason. He looked back to the book, and it gave him an idea. "Maybe... I should go after the 'great power.'" Lanette's eyebrow raised in inquiry. "Try and get it myself to protect everyone, and destroy it if I can't. To make sure _they _don't get it."

Indeed, the kid _was _smart. "Hmm... that sounds like a plan." She was gradually noticing more similarities between Lucas and her late caretaker. He seemed to put the safety of others ahead of himself, and he didn't seek power just to become more powerful. Yes, she wanted to see just how far this boy would go. "You know what? Two heads are better than one. I think I'm gonna come with you!"

"Wh-wha!" he stammered. "You... you'd come with me? No, I couldn't put you in that kind of danger..."

"Ha! I laugh in the face of danger." Lanette stated proudly. "Besides... how do you expect to get away from here without help?"

She raised another good point. He only loosely knew the layout of the slums and the abandoned buildings on their outskirts, and that was before the Resistance had set up camp here. If the soldiers had been told about the leader's decision... they wouldn't just let him walk away. "Okay, okay, you have a point." he conceded. "But what about the other orphans?"

Now it was Lanette's turn to think hard, about the people she'd be leaving behind. Would they be alright? "Hmm... they're getting moved to a new orphanage, they should be alright from here... but you're right, I should at least say goodbye to them first."

Lucas was in disbelief. She was seriously thinking of going with him. "You're... really sure about this? You probably won't see them again for a long time..."

"Oh, I know that." she told him. "But... most of my life was spent in the slums. Ever since I wound up in this pit... hell, _before _I wound up here all I've ever wanted was to see the world." She closed her eyes. "The others don't mind as long as they're alive, that's good enough for them... but it's not for me." She opened her eyes and looked back to him. "I'm sick of this war. I'm sick of hiding. I want to do something to help clean up this whole mess... but... I'm kinda like you. I don't want to pick sides, I just want it to stop..."

Suddenly Lanette was spilling her heart out, and it confused him. She really did want to go with him, to leave these slums behind despite the obvious dangers they might face. He almost thought there was another reason behind her eagerness to leave her friends and "family" behind... so he read her emotions. But he found nothing out of the ordinary, in fact it was just as she said; he could feel her desire to leave and do something for the greater good. It was strong, just as strong as his own. And she was right, the more people helping him, the better. "Okay, you win." he said finally, conceding defeat. "So, how do you plan for us to get out of here?"

"Oh... you'll see, don't worry." Lanette assured him. He was glad she was confident, but he couldn't avoid worrying when he noticed that mischievous glint in her eye...

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Out of all the positions one could have in an army of any sort, the role of the common soldier varied the most. It was the occupation that most people never returned home to tell about. But for those who did, their stories would either deliver thrills for the family for hours, or be so boring and uneventful that they would question why they were even there to begin with. For a pair of Resistance soldiers that were on guard duty tonight, it seemed like it was going to be one of those nights where nothing happened. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was purely objective, but as they stand on either the street unable to find anything to do other than stare at each other, neither of them can deny how obscenely _dull _their job is.

No sooner had they shared this mutual thought did something actually happen, but it betrayed all of their expectations.

"H-hey, wait up!" said a young voice from the Resistance encampment, no doubt belonging to one of the orphans they were supposed to protect. However it was quite a surprise to see three of those orphan children, still dressed in their rags despite the cold night air, run past them faster than they had realized.

It took both of the soldiers a moment for their brains to kick in that something was happening out of the norm. "Wait! Stop!" They both yelled to the children, realizing that they were heading in the direction of the slums which could still very well be teeming with Government soldiers. But apparently the children either didn't hear them or simply ignored them. They wasted no time chasing the laughing pre-teens down, watching one of them duck away into an alleyway, and the other two swiftly followed. But it might've been a poor run of luck for the children, as the alley they ran into was sealed off in the middle by a large, decrepit wall of bricks. A dead end. They turned around to see that they were now boxed in by the Resistance soldiers, and yelped in fright. "What do you kids think you're doing? This is a restricted area!" the soldier on the left scolded them.

"Wha? B-but it's too _boring _in there!" one of the orphans, the six year old with black hair that had accompanied the old man before, complained.

"There's nothing to do, nothing to eat, and I can't sleep!" said another orphan, this one with short blue hair.

"Yeah, we wanna go home!" shouted one with extremely short, brown hair, as if he were about to have a tantrum.

"...I understand you want to go home, but it's very dangerous out there now!" the soldier on the right said to try and calm them down. "I'm sorry, but it's best if you stay here for now."

"But I don't _wanna _stay here!" was the inevitable reply, from all three children at once.

The soldiers looked at each other helplessly, clearly never having been faced with a situation like this before. They were trained for and used to dealing with an enemy attack and fighting for their lives, not calming down a trio of juveniles.

Thus, in the chaos of the situation, they didn't realize Lucas and Lanette sneaking even further down the street than the children had, nearly twice as far by this point in fact. They were completely unnoticed as the children gained their undivided attention. _"You guys are the best!" _she thanked them in her head, wishing she could do so verbally, but escape took priority.

"Hey, are you kids out here?" said another of the orphans, a teenager this time, the red-haired Jim. He came up to the alley and peeked around the soldiers to see that, indeed, they were hiding in the alleyway. "For Pete's sake guys, where are your heads! You could get killed if you stay out here! Get back to your rooms, _now_!" he roared at them. With the volume he shouted at, the kids were immediately scared straight, and with frightened cries they dashed out of the alley and ran back to the encampment from whence they came. Jim growled in irritation, then turned to the soldiers who, while appearing stone-faced, were quite happy that someone had taken care of the children. "I'm really sorry about that, Sir... er, Sirs. They're really excitable after everything that happened." he explained, bowing his head in apology. But he kept his eyes open, to make sure that Lucas and Lanette had managed to get away. Sure enough they were out of view, and the soldiers were none the wiser.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." the soldier on the left told him sternly. "Now, you return to the encampment too, please."

"Y-yes, of course, Sir." Jim replied, turning on his heel and running down the path the three orphan children took. When the soldiers couldn't see his face, he smiled. _"Good luck, Lanette... Lucas..."_

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It amazed Lucas that he was able to keep up Lanette as well as he did. Their run from the Resistance encampment and back into the slums was a long one, and the threat of a surprise Government attack was constantly wearing on his nerves. Yet while he was nearly exhausted from the ordeal, _she_ had hardly even broken a sweat. There was no doubt that she was very physically fit, though he supposed that came with the territory. In any case, this girl was a tough one. So much like _her_...

"Those guys... I can't thank them enough." Lanette lamented as their running slowed to a walk, indicating that they were near their destination.

Lucas felt much the same way she did. "I can't believe they did that for us..." The children's attempt to sneak by the Resistance soldiers was, in fact, a pre-planned distraction to let Lucas and Lanette run past them undetected, and they did their job perfectly. Their willingness to help him, a complete stranger, surprised and touched him deeply. If only the rest of the world were as kind as they were...

"We're here." she informed him. They stopped in front of a crumbling building, a garage by the looks of it. However while the building was blackened, the large garage door looked only a little rusted and was otherwise pristine, as if it had been used recently. She pulled something out of her tattered clothing, a key, and bent down to unclasp the lock that held the door's handle to the ground. Then with a grunt of effort, she pulled the handle upwards and practically threw the door into its open position with a mighty heave. Yes, she _was _physically fit; her feminine appearance did no justice to her strength. He briefly wondered if she was a psychokinetic, but knew that wasn't the case. If she were a Psychokinetic, he surely would've felt her power.

Lanette motioned him inside, snapping him out of his musings. She flipped a switch once they were both in and slowly a quartet of long, fluorescent tubes stretched along the ceiling sparked to life, bathing the small garage with blue light. It was a quaint space consisting of a few rusty drawers, a rusty sink and a rusty cot. But perhaps most eye-catching thing was the only thing not rusty and the biggest object in the garage, situated in its center: a metal construct of motors, pipes and levers sitting atop two wide wheels, with a plain red chassis accompanied by a black leather seat on top. The strange thing about it was the metal grate basket fitted between the two directional handles on the front, but despite this oddity it was sleek-looking and most definitely built for speed. "Whoa... what _is _this?" he asked.

Lanette was just opening the top shelf in the drawers, when she turned around and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You're kidding me. You've never seen a motorcycle before?" she questioned. He immediately shook his head to the negative. "Oh... you're serious. Wow, just _wow_."

"I'm... not from around here." Lucas admitted.

"Huh, guess not." she muttered before resuming her looting of the drawers, the first thing she pulled out being a large burlap sack. "Where _are _you from, anyway?"

That question almost made Lucas yelp, but it still made him jump a bit. "Um... I'd... rather not say, if that's alright with you..." He looked down to the floor in disgust with himself. He wished he could give her a straight answer.

"Eh? Why not?" she inquired. "It's not like I'll tell anyone..."

"N-no, it's not about privacy or anything like that..." he said, looking back to her. "I just don't think you'll believe me." She turned back to him with a glance that urged him to explain. "I'm... not really an orphan. Long story short, most of what's happened to me is like what you'd hear out of a fairy tale or a myth..."

"Ahh, okay." Lanette replied, now a little more understanding. She went back to going through the drawers, shoving various objects into the sack as she continued talking. "You might have a point then... people today hardly ever believe in God or myths or any of that oogie-boogie stuff, _especially _me. Hell, the only reason I believe this stuff about a 'great power' is because it's documented."

Lucas understood the concept. "Seeing is believing, huh?"

"Yep." She pulled something else out of the drawers now, a leather belt with what appeared to be a switchblade hitched on either side. She slipped it onto her ratty clothing. "You're probably right; if you're story is _that _ridiculous, I'd probably just think you're a crazy man if you tried to tell it, so I'll just leave that one alone for now."

"Mmm... I'm okay with that, I guess." he muttered. He was growing a little concerned however with every new thing she pulled out of the drawers, especially the belt with switchblades. "Am I allowed to ask what _your _story is then?" he asked boldly.

Lanette chuckled and replied, "Well... I'm not really comfortable with it either..." He grew even more concerned when her mood darkened a bit. "Just mine's a little more... personal."

"Oh, okay. Say no more then." he insisted. "Your business is your business."

She couldn't help but smile. "Thanks." she replied. That kid was so strong, yet so sweet and thoughtful. He was a good person, and that was enough for her to trust him, even if she didn't know his back-story. That was fine with her. Once she had finished relieving the drawers of their contents, she set the bag she stashed them in into the motorcycle's metal basket, then hopped onto the seat. She pulled another key out of her clothing and put it into the ignition, but before turning the engine over extended a hand to Lucas, motioning for him to get on the empty portion of the seat behind her. "Okay, you _did _say we were going to Eagleland, right?"

He was hesitant at first, but he knew they had to get out of here fast, and did as he was told despite having to ride this unfamiliar vehicle. "Yes... I'm sure." he replied.

He had double-checked Ness' notes in the diary before leaving the Resistance camp to make sure after a brief argument he and Lanette had about the destination; apparently, "Neo Eagleland" as it was now called in contrast to the notes was practically Government central. Leaving one threatening faction to go into the lands of another was a sure case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire," but they'd both agreed that there was nowhere else for them to go either way and might as well take the challenge head-on.

She turned the motorcycle on, and the raw engine noise nearly made Lucas jump out of his skin. His arms immediately wrapped around her in his spat of fear. She couldn't help be laugh, it was so cute! "U-um... Miss Lanette, are you sure this is safe!" he shouted over the unholy racket.

"Don't worry, I've done this plenty of times before!" Lanette assured him. "Just hold on tight and you'll be fine!"

His nerves made him do just that as she revved the motorcycle's engine...

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The sudden noise didn't go unnoticed by the Resistance encampment, especially not in the dead calm of the night. With the recent Government activity in the slums, all of the soldiers were immediately put on edge, especially Timothy. He was not happy as he had to force himself out of the bed he so desperately needed to sleep in right now.

However, he'd barely had time to even exit his room before he heard the sound of tires squealing against pavement, and it was quickly dying down as fast as it started. His mind quickly went to work. A vehicle going _away _from the encampment surely posed no threat, and it couldn't have been one of the Resistance's own vehicles, or it would've been much louder. Then again, who in this run-down section of the Earth would have something capable of such racket? And why now, in the wake of a Government attack? He knew in his gut that something wasn't right. Still dressed in his uniform, he put on his boots and went in the direction of the outside. But as he went by, he noticed that he was heading by Lucas' room... and the door was slightly open. He decided to check up on the boy. Surely that noise had spooked him too...

Imagine Timothy's surprise when the psychokinetic prodigy was nowhere to be seen in the room. "_What_!" he shouted. Where was he! _"Now, calm down. He couldn't have gone far, Lanette was with..."_

The severity of the situation hit him like a sack of bricks.

"_Goddamnit_, _Lanette_!" he shouted in rage, fully realizing that the conniving orphan girl had duped him. He knew exactly what was going on. "Damnit, damnit, _damn _that psychotic woman! I should've known she was up to something!"

Being with the orphans for so long, he got to know them on a personal level, especially Lanette. She was a daredevil, and the type of person that doesn't listen to orders that she doesn't like. And he knew she didn't like the Resistance's decision about Lucas. How she managed to get a vehicle capable of making that much noise in these slums of all places was beyond him, but it was obvious to him that she'd taken Lucas and was escaping with him. This was _not_ good. The Resistance was getting ready to evacuate this area by tomorrow morning, and the Resistance Leaders were expecting Lucas to be under their control and fighting for them within just two days; they would _not _be happy to learn that he'd ran away. And what if the Government got to him first! It would surely be the end of both him and Lanette.

There was nothing for it. They had to be found and brought back as soon as possible. _"Stupid girl, why do you have to make everything so damned difficult!"_

* * *

**A/N:** The journey would be much easier if the Resistance actually fought for the greater good and not just simply to get rid of a problem, but such is the reality of war. Besides, I'm keeping as close to the spirit of the games as possible, so of course it has to be a small group standing up against insurmountable odds.

Also, holy crap, over 13,000 words in this verse alone. I'm quite sure not every verse will be this long, but I guess I won't know for sure until I continue on. At least this way I have an excuse for being inconsistent with my updates.

Remember to review, people! Reviews fuel my creativity!


	3. Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere, Verse 3

_Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere_

_Verse 3_

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Work meetings. They were one part of a job quite possibly no one in the world really liked, but they had to bare with them regardless. Workers would argue that meetings, be they big or small, were a waste of the time they could be spending on getting their own work done. Those with material to present to the meetings may be nervous to the point of sweating bullets, since after all it was _their _findings that would be discussed and ultimately approved or disapproved by the disgruntled participants, and success or failure in front of their most important colleagues could mean the difference between a promotion and getting fired. Those coordinating the meetings would sometimes have their hands full just keeping everyone civil and on topic, and this task was as difficult if the reason for the meeting was important.

No, no one liked meetings, especially not the really important ones. Thus, one could only imagine the stress that the Government was going through right now with the most recent developments in the slums on the outskirts of Eastville. There was a lot going through the minds of those who already knew what would be discussed; the real issue was how they were going to break the news to the other Government officials that were currently piling in and taking seats at the massive, circular table that took up most of the space of the massive, circular room. The incidents were so new that the people entering the room didn't know what was to be discussed, only that whatever it was had sent the entire research division and some of the army into a panic. They also knew that whatever did this couldn't possibly be good for them. Pity to the bald, bespectacled scientist that had to explain everything then, especially when the President and Vice President – he didn't know whose wrath to fear more – were only three seats to the right of him.

Soon the large, wooden doors shut with a loud _bang _as the last politician took his seat, and the scientist's time in the spotlight had started. He cleared his throat, as ready as he ever would be to address everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen... first of all, thank you all for coming on such short notice." he greeted them all nervously. "I understand that this might be a bad time for some of you, but I'm afraid this couldn't wait. This is a matter that could threaten global security."

Seeing only puzzled stares on the politician's faces directed at both himself and each other. Clearly they didn't think too much of the situation from how he was making it sound. What he said next change that though.

"One of the PSIbers has fallen in battle."

_That_ got everyone's immediate attention... well, _almost _everyone. While the politicians stared eagerly at the white projector sheet rolling down from the ceiling, the Vice President almost looked bored, being the only other person present that already knew about all of this, despite the importance. He seemed to be the only one nonchalant though, as even the President seated beside him was wide-eyed at the sudden knowledge that one of their guardians had felled. A few keystrokes on the scientist's laptop were audible over the mumblings of the people, and before long the projector above the doors sparked to life, displaying an image on the large white palette. It was the image of PSIber-Silver, laying on the operating table in the laboratory – before having her wounds treated. The sight of her battered, burned and bleeding body was one that no one would be forgetting for a long time.

"What you see here is the state she was in before her wounds were attended to." the scientist began to explain. "This happened shortly after Vice President Edel's encounter with the Resistance Leader 'Old Man' which I'm sure you must know of by now. And if you don't, let it be known that Old Man used PSI-assisted suicide to avoid capture, in a feat that damaged the Planet Container worldwide." He paused, inhaling deeply before dropping the bombshell. "I'm telling you this solely to emphasize that what happened to PSIber-Silver was _not _Old Man's doing."

"Impossible." one of the politicians, a raven-haired man so scrawny that his clothes looked at least two sizes too big for him, dared to interject. "Someone without Old Man's Formless PSI beating a PSIber this badly? That can't be right." he argued. Psychokinetics capable of Formless PSI were few and far between, for one very good reason: they were systematically captured and eliminated. Formless PSI was a wild and unpredictable force that the scientists couldn't really account for when designing and creating new means of destroying Psychokinetics, and thus the Government had hunted them down mercilessly before they could join the Resistance effort and become a threat. To date, the only one who _had _been in the Resistance was Old Man, one had founded it and was thus there from the start.

And now came the part that the scientist absolutely dreaded to reveal to everyone, but had found the courage to when his presentation was so rudely interrupted. He retorted, "I said that the culprit wasn't Old Man, _not_ that the culprit didn't have the ability to use Formless PSI." That promptly shut the man up, along with everyone else in the room, adding to the dramatic effect that he really wasn't intending to create. "A new Psychokinetic capable of Formless PSI has surfaced, and has already made an enemy of the Government by attacking and defeating a PSIber. In fact, just her _weapons_ getting struck by his unique PSI wavelength while they _weren't even on her frame _caused a number of errors in her system."

A keystroke on the scientist's laptop later, the image on the projector changed, into a soundless motion picture: PSIber-Silver's own perspective of her defeat at the hands of said psychokinetic. There were whispers of things identical or similar to "But he's only a child!" throughout the room, but when they saw his power in action, they began to realize that he was indeed a real threat and watched the video intently.

"What information do we have on this... boy, other than his appearance?" spoke, of all people, the President himself, his voice deep and commanding. He was an impressive-looking man whose very appearance almost commanded authority, dressed in a flawless, black tuxedo that contrasted with his tan skin. His head was as bald as the scientist's, but his face was flawless and smooth with a sharp chin, and his eyes were black and piercing. His body had at least twice the volume of the Vice President despite not being as tall, though that wasn't to say he was a wall of muscle, but still a fine cut of man.

"Truth be told, mister President, we know next to nothing about him." the scientist admitted as he kept his eyes on the video. "We've pulled up all the scans that PSIber-Silver had in her backup memory drive. We've analyzed the boy's PSI wavelength at least a hundred times. We've even taken DNA samples from the hand-inflicted wounds he left on her. _None_ of it matches anything in our database, _none_."

This information pleased no one in the room. "So you're saying that this kid essentially came out of thin air, beat up a PSIber and disappeared?" Vice President Edel summarized. "That's unacceptable! There's no way someone with Formless PSI that strong could've been under our radar all this time!"

The scientist readjusted his glasses, the stress of the situation having worn on him all last night. "As much as I'd like to agree with you mister Vice President, I'm afraid it _is_ possible, because this child has accomplished it." Edel's glower was clear proof that he didn't like his theory being challenged, but he had no rebuttal. The video had cycled through to the end and stopped. "The child pretty much _did _come out of nowhere... thus we've given him the title, 'Nowhere Boy.'"

Edel scoffed. "Cute..." he muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"So what do you suppose we do about this 'Nowhere Boy?'" inquired the scrawny politician.

"Eliminate him as fast as possible, of course." the scientist answered without hesitation. "As much as I'd like to know where he came from, he's just too dangerous to leave active."

"Hmm... I agree." the President said. "While I don't like the idea of hunting a child, the threat he represents is too big to ignore. The question is: how _do_ we hunt a _child _without raising the ire of the general public?"

"Yes, that's a good point..." said another politician, a woman with short, blonde hair and green eyes. Her voice sounded of an Australian accent, and she wore a blue executive's suit with a black skirt. "We've only now started to gain the public's trust in the eradication of Psychokinetics. That trust won't hold out if we just hunt the kid in broad daylight."

"But it still has done be done regardless. This just means we have to do the dirty deed away from the public eye." said another politician, a rather large man whose body was more composed of more fat than muscle, barely able to fit in his seat. He wore the same style of clothing as the President, but understandably he stood out quite a bit more. His hair was brown and short, and his eyes were small and hazel-coloured.

"Which would unfortunately require watching the boy closely, and we can't do that right now." Edel interjected. "The old man's Resistance bodyguard was with the kid the night of the attack. No doubt they're both under their protection by now."

"Wonderful. We can't possibly take him out of the equation then, the Resistance will never give up someone that valuable." said an average-looking politician, male, with a pair of glasses that had no rims on the top. His hair was short and dark-blue. "So then what do we do?"

The room fell into silence. That was definitely the question that desperately needed to be answered. Child or not, someone with PSI this powerful had to be either contained or destroyed with the utmost of haste, but for now... he was unreachable. "I wonder..." Edel was the one to disturb the quiet. "If Nowhere Boy is really this strong, then I wonder if the Resistance will use him to fight against us?"

Now there was some food for thought. "Hmm... if he's been taken in by the Resistance, that's a distinct possibility." the scientist agreed. "Yes, they won't hesitate to put the power that could defeat a PSIber into action."

The Vice President chuckled, eerily calm given the situation. "Then, ladies and gentlemen, I believe the best option is simply to wait." he said. "If Nowhere Boy is unreachable for now, then there's no point in getting worked up about it. We'll just have to keep the pressure on the Resistance like before until he resurfaces."

One of the people in the room growled, the only man in the room that was neither a politician nor a scientist, but instead a member of the military. He wore a green uniform with a pair of badges and a collection of coloured squares pinned to the left side of his vest. His eyes were obscured by the black visor of his military cap, but what was visible of his face showed that he was well-aged. "I don't like this. It could be any length of time from now before the Resistance decides to test out its new weapon. I don't want to be caught off guard." he grumbled in a weathered voice that fit his age. "To that end, I want both the military and the PSIber team to keep watch for this new enemy, just to cover all of our bases."

The scrawny politician added, "I concur with Admiral Harken. I refuse to simply sit and wait while the Resistance tries to plot our demise. I think I may call in a few bounty hunters as well, to improve our chances."

"Whatever you deem necessary." the President agreed. "I, too, don't want to wait. I want you all to take every measure you can to bring this 'Nowhere Boy' down, so long as it is within reasonable limitations. No matter what, this situation _cannot _reach the public eye." he ordered. "Meeting adjourned."

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Little did the Government known that while 'Nowhere Boy' _had_ originally been taken in by Lieutenant Timothy McGuiness of the Resistance, it was only for a brief twenty-four hours. They had failed to take into account – possibly justifiably - that he would be able to act on his own will, and that will was to _not_ be involved in the war. And thanks to a new friend he found in a feisty and daring girl named Lanette, he was making that a reality.

Their escape had been done by motorcycle. It had taken some getting used to for Lucas to ride on the two-wheeled vehicle. He'd used other means of quick transportation before, some fast with walls, some slow with no walls. This was the first time he'd seen or experienced fast and _without walls_, and realizing the dangers it posed to an inexperienced rider, it terrified him at first. But Lanette knew what she was doing. She had definitely done this before, and apparently had enough ice in her blood for the two of them. He trusted her. Still, there was always the possibility of a freak accident...

They had traveled throughout the night without stopping, knowing that getting as far away from the Resistance as they could took priority over sleep. It was daytime now, and she had taken a more leisurely pace now that they were in a populated area that wasn't the slums. This was Eastville, a city that was a good few miles away from the slums, and was a decidedly neater and cleaner-looking place that bustled with averagely-dressed people and average-looking vehicles. It made Lucas feel a little out of place, with him wearing his worn-out shirt and shorts and Lanette wearing her tattered rags.

It was as if she'd read his mind when she spoke to him over the rumbling motorcycle engine. "I don't know about you, but I feel a little underdressed..."

The fast ride they had to take wasn't at all pleasant. Their clothes weren't very heavy, and thus they had to deal with the wind rushing past them as they rode. Both of them were almost chilled to the bone, even if the girl tried her best not to show it, especially since she was the one driving. His tight grip around her waist so that he wouldn't fall off was the only reason he wasn't shivering uncontrollably. "Y-yeah, we need h-heavier c-c-clothes..." he agreed, unable to stop his teeth from chattering. "B-but where, though?"

"Don't worry, I've got money." Lanette replied. "We can buy whatever we need; we just need to find a department store... Eastville is huge, there _has _to be one around here somewhere."

It was as if the forces that be were listening to her then, as the place she sought out came into view on the right-hand side the sea of houses buildings they were driving along. Hidden well within this large residential district was the large parking lot of a long, grey building that was two floors high. For the most part it looked very plain, excluding the large, white letters that sat atop its roof and read "MacroMart."

"Wow... that was easy."

Lucas didn't know what "macro" meant, but he _did _know the definition of "mart." This was the place they needed, without a doubt. "L-Let's not g-get used to it." he deadpanned.

Lanette laughed loudly and said, "Yeah, really!" She was more laughing about the irony of finding what she needed just after mentioning it, but she agreed with his sentiments. Circumstance presented, they were probably _not _going to hold this streak of luck. She pulled into the parking lot, aiming to get whatever they needed for the long trip to Neo Eagleland while they had the chance. "I feel kinda sorry for the people living next to here though... I'd never be able to sleep through all those cars."

As Lucas gazed around the parking lot for an empty space to park their motorcycle, he also noticed the sheer amount of various cars, vans and trucks packed in it. Some of them were entering and turning off, others were turning on and exiting. He decided to echo her sympathies when he could clearly hear the cacophony of noise over their own loud motorcycle, and was also thankful he didn't live here.

Not entirely caring about how close or how far they were from the building, Lanette carefully steered the motorcycle into a parking space near the edge of the lot; they were at least forty spaces away from the entrance doors. She didn't mind walking. She switched the ignition off and pocketed the keys, waiting for Lucas to get off before she could. "So how was your first motorcycle ride?" she asked him.

He shuddered and stretched before replying, "I c-can't stop shaking from the engine rumbling... or m-maybe I'm just c-cold. I don't know, p-probably both..."

She giggled. That was to be expected from the first ride. "Well, the best way to stop that shaking is to walk it off. And we've got a lot of walking to do."

It was only now that he realized just how far away from the department store they were. _"A lot of walking is right..."_he thought to himself, not that it really bothered him. He preferred walking anyway. Wordlessly, the two of them made their way across the parking lot to the MacroMart.

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It's a common stereotype of rich people that they have everything they could ever want, that they have the rest of their lives laid out in front of them to take, that simply living was paradise for them. Granted that the task of getting to be a multi-millionaire is a chore in itself, but those who honestly think that their problems end there are horribly wrong. The real challenge wasn't _getting_ to that sublime lifestyle, but _keeping _it.

This was something that respected billionaire Steven Cain knew all too well. He was one of those people who had everything. A loving wife by the name of Merelda, a massive mansion and a summer home to live in, butlers and maids to attend to his every immediate need, and above all, mountains upon mountains of money. But he also knew that no matter how much money he had, it wasn't limitless. He needed to do something to bring in more money, to make his position above the average person actually worth something. And he was worth a _lot_to the Government. He didn't usually work at their facilities, he had his own since he could afford the equipment. And not just any equipment, the equipment that the Government valued the most in these times of war: weaponry, meant for taking down Psychokinetics. Steven was both the visionary and the inventor of the PSIber project, both a billionaire and a technological genious. He was one of the most important people under the Government's employ, second only to the President, Vice President and a select few politicians and military officers. His prowess with machines was indispensable.

Thus, one could only imagine his rage when he heard the grim news of what happened to PSIber-Silver. "What do you mean, 'she nearly died!'" he repeated, visibly angered. Steven was a large man with short, black hair neatly combed so that it looked perfectly flat, and he sported a full mustache under his nose. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with a red tie and black dress pants, something people with his wealth would call casual. Though rich or not, he was scary when he was angry, and his black eyes displayed what he was feeling quite clearly.

The person on the other end of the video call he was talking to, however, was someone not easily intimidated. Displayed on a large, flat television screen on the other side of his home office was Vice President Edel, who seemed no more pleased about the sudden house call than the billionaire himself did. "You heard me correctly, Mister Cain. Roughly twenty-four hours ago, PSIber-Silver was dealt near-fatal injuries by a psychokinetic with Formless PSI." he explained more thoroughly than he had previously.

It was a very rude awakening for Steven. "Formless PSI... I distinctly recall you telling me that 'Old Man' was the only one left on this Earth who could use it." he reminded Edel.

"So we thought, but jumping to conclusions came back to bite us in the ass." the Vice President replied. "The old man committed suicide to avoid capture, and then a new Psychokinetic came out of nowhere and beat your toy to a pulp."

Steven slammed his large hand onto his workdesk in anger. "But that shouldn't be possible! Even _with _Formless PSI, PSIber-Silver should've been able to tear him apart!"

"Yes, she should've." Edel agreed. "But she didn't, and the researchers here are stumped as to _why _she couldn't. Something about the Psychokinetic's Formless PSI messed with her systems in a way that they can't identify."

He knew where this was going. "And you want me to take a look at the data since the others are too inept to figure this out themselves, is that it?" he asked rhetorically.

Edel grinned that creepy grin that even sent chills up the billionaire's spine and replied, "If you'd be so kind, of course."

He growled. This wasn't on his work schedule today. He wasn't expecting a call from the Vice President of all people, let alone about his prized creation being defeated. But as much as he didn't like it, he knew better than to defy the Government. These were times when people gambled with lives, not money, and he wasn't prepared to risk his own skin just because he didn't want to look over something. "Send me all the data you have. Visual records, data analysis, even her thought patterns; don't leave _anything_out." he conceded finally.

"I already have them here and ready to send to you."

An icon began to flash on the large screen, and also on the screen of the sleek, black laptop on his desk that was projecting the image. He clicked it wordlessly, and watched the green meter quickly zoom from left to right. When it was done, he had a new folder on his desktop. "I'll get back to you as soon as I find something worthy of note." Steven said with finality. Edel nodded, and the video feed turned pitch black.

Before pulling up the visual records, Steven reached into his desk and pulled out a thick, brown cigar. Something about them helped him to concentrate, and he didn't have to worry about smoke filling the room thanks to the whisper-quiet ventilation on the ceiling. Hit lit it with his lighter, letting out a puff before opening and viewing the video.

As reluctant as he was to go through with this, that wasn't a reason for him not to, and thus no aspect of the video escaped his scrutinizing gaze. He, like the rest, were also quite amazed to see that the one who desecrated his creation was nothing but a mere child, but he was even more amazed to see his Formless PSI in action and the damage it did. _"To destroy those blades in that fashion would require a huge physical impact. For psychokinetic power to do that... it must be raw force. There's no doubt this is Formless PSI."_ he theorized. He paid little attention to the data analysis in the text box at the top of PSIber-Silver's heads-up display however, that wasn't his interest at the moment; his task was to create what the Government used, _how _they used it didn't concern him. He watched the fight continue, as PSIber-Silver went to cut her losses and eliminate the orphans—

He bit down deeply on his cigar and hit a button on his keyboard, perhaps a bit harder than he should have, to stop the video. Something caught his eye... although strangely, it wasn't pertaining to PSIber-Silver's loss, nor was it the fault in her programming that puzzled the scientists. It was something else he saw. He rewound the video a few frames, seeing that face... he zoomed in on it...

He nearly _inhaled_ his cigar then, in fact he _would have _if it weren't already falling from his wide-open mouth and onto the red-carpeted floor. He came out of his stupor in time to stomp out the cigar so the rug wouldn't catch fire.

His hand scrambled for the phone, an actual one this time, and pressed one of the speed-dial buttons.

Two rings later, he received an answer. "Merelda? Yes, it's me. I... I have something you might want to see..."

Suddenly PSIber-Silver's failure was second priority as the wealthy man's gaze was fixated on that one orphan girl with the pigtails...

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The first thing Lucas and Lanette sought to do when they got to the MacroMart was to get some new clothes, and the greeter at the entrance had pointed them to the clothing section before they even asked; obviously the current state of what they were wearing was proof enough that they needed replacements. The two escapees had agreed, since their faces were dangerous things to be shown in public now, that whatever outfits they chose should at least hide their faces while allowing them to blend into a crowd and not look too suspicious.

They were done changing their clothes now. Lucas was the first to come out of the dressing room. At first glance it looked like all he'd done was repair and polish up his original look, but he'd actually picked clothing more fit for the long bouts of travel he was sure to endure. The denim shorts had been replaced into actual denim jeans with larger pockets, and his t-shirt was replaced with a yellow-and-orange striped hoodie with both the sleeves and the hood plain yellow. The hood had white lining inside, and it was large enough to hide the top part of his face without obscuring his vision too much. He'd also replaced his shoes, though they were the same style and size. While the whole ensemble was heavier than what he was used to, he was comfortable enough in it. He flipped his hood up as Lanette came out of her dressing room.

Anything she could've picked was a drastic improvement over the rags she had been stuck with before, but apparently she had good fashion sense. She wore leather shorts with the studded belt that held her switchblades, along with a pink t-shirt and a plain blue bandana around her neck, which he supposed would be good for hiding the bottom part of her face. Her ratty old shoes had been replaced with white sneakers. Her style of choice was a tad revealing and didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination, but Lucas had to admit that it suited her quite well.

Something about his own outfit made Lanette unable to prevent herself from laughing, though he couldn't imagine what. She was happy to tell him though. "Hahaha! You look like a gangster! That's awesome... I love it!" she said giddily.

Gangster... it certainly wasn't the "heart of gold" image he preferred to keep, but he supposed he didn't mind too much. He wasn't quite sure she had room to nitpick though. "Look who's talking." he countered smugly. But then he grew concerned. "Lanette, all of these clothes look really expensive... are you sure we can afford all this?"

"Don't worry about it! I told you, I've got money." Lanette assured him as she strolled over to the checkout counter. "Umm, do you mind if we keep these on while we buy them?" she asked the cashier, who was a freckled girl with glasses and short, brown hair wearing a blue employee uniform.

"Not a problem. Just show me the tags without ripping them off first." the cashier replied. This wasn't a problem for Lanette since her waist was up to the top of the counter, although Lucas had to support himself on the countertop so he could lift his pant leg up and make the tag visible. The cashier noted and punched in the proper amounts into the computer. "$559, please."

Lucas' eyes widened at that hefty price tag; even where he came from, that was quite a lot to pay, especially for a pile of clothes. And yet Lanette didn't seem at all put off by it, pulling her wallet out of her rag cost that she was still carrying with one arm and taking a credit card out, then swiping it into the card reader...

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"This... can't be real..."

Merelda's reaction to the face on the video was much the same as Steven's. She could not believe what she was seeing, and he still couldn't. "I can't believe it either..." He had his arm around her, his hand squeezing her shoulder in an attempt to calm the flustered woman down. She was a beautiful woman, with long, shiny brown hair that reached her waist and almost lustrous green eyes. She was currently wearing a red bathrobe, having only just come out of the shower before being called down to her husband's home office.

"Why... why with those poor children...?" she asked him, pleading for an answer.

But there was none he could give, for he was just as confused and concerned. "Why with _him_? Why with that psychokinetic freak of nature that just appeared out of nowhere?" he thought aloud. It didn't add up. Why was she with him of all people? Had his worst fears been realized?

The ringing of the office phone made the couple jump. As if the situation weren't tense enough. Steven answered it, allowing the one on the other end to speak first; he was the only one who ever answered this phone and thus didn't need to respond with a "Hello."

When the caller said what he had to say, his eyes widened.

"What? From where!" he replied in a demanding tone. "Get a search party and my vehicle ready. We're leaving immediately!"

He hung up the phone, and a very worried Merelda inquired, "Now what!"

"A bank transaction was just made with her credit card." he told her. "I'm not wasting any time, I'm going there right away."

This news excited his wife. "H-hold on, I'll get dressed and-"

"No honey, you stay here, please." Steven urged her. "This could be dangerous... I don't want to lose you to those freaks too."

She was going to object, but he was already dashing out of his home office...

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After getting some satisfactory outfits, Lucas and Lanette agreed to go get some fast food, and he was glad to finally find a concept in this messed up world that wasn't entirely foreign to him. Neither of them had eaten since their haphazard escape from the Resistance camp, and their stomachs had grumpily reminded them of this. Fortunately there was a restaurant built into the MacroMart, so they didn't have to go far. He didn't catch the name of the restaurant nor the name of what kind of hamburger she ordered, but not a picky eater, he decided to have whatever she was having to avoid confusion.

The restaurant was at the edge of the department store and used both the first and second floors. They had been fortunate enough to get a table that was by the windows up on the second floor, giving them a good view of the parking lot and some of the city beyond. It wasn't spectacular by any means, but it was something. It made him think of his old home...

Lucas felt his heart burn with yearning and despair. He still didn't know what became of his home... or the people there...

For a few moments, they ate in silence, until Lanette noticed how downcast her companion was. The kid was a mystery to be sure. She could tell that he was incredibly strong if his performance against PSIber-Silver in the slums was any indicator, and yet he appeared and acted so gentle and timid when there wasn't a need to take action. Having that kind of power, but not using it too much... she'd never met anyone like that. Most of the people she'd seen had followed a simple formula: the strong flaunted their power at every opportunity, and the weak either ran away or hid whenever disaster struck. She'd never seen the two mixed quite like this. She couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind...

But seeing that it wasn't anything good, she decided to snap him out of his reverie. "So, Lucas." she addressed him. He nearly jumped out of his chair in response. He was really deep in thought about something... "How are we supposed to find this 'great power' or whatever it's called?" she asked. He had read the book, surely he knew what to do, and it would help if she knew as well.

Lucas also thought it was worth explaining, so long as it got his mind off of... _that_. He nodded and pulled something out of his pocket, the strange stone that had fallen out of the 'Black Diary,' as he'd decided to name it. "It has something to do with this. It fell out of the book when I opened it."

At first Lanette thought it was just some rock that had gotten into the book's pages by mistake, but when he handed to her, she saw that it was more than some piece of granite. It wasn't every day that you see such a perfectly-crafted model of the Earth scaled down to this extent. "Wow, this is beautiful..." she admitted as she looked it over.

"It's called a 'Sound Stone.'" Lucas explained. "From what I read, there are eight 'Sanctuaries' brimming with mysterious power in Eagleland, and the 'great power' is unlocked by bringing that stone to each and every one." He then pulled the Black Diary out of his back pocket so he could look it over and see if that information was correct, and it was. But there was one part that confuses him. "Apparently it... records a melody, or something..."

That was quite confusing to Lanette as well. "What, so this thing is like a tape recorder?" she asked sarcastically.

"No idea, but it sounds like we'll need it regardless." he reminded her.

As unlikely as it was to her, there was no harm in being over-prepared, and she handed the Sound Stone back to Lucas. "Right... so does that book say where these 'Sanctuaries' are?"

"It does, actually..." he replied. "I haven't seen where it explains exactly what the Sanctuaries are yet, but it has both their location and what they look like." His eyes gazed up to her from the pages. "They're definitely real, if that's what you're wondering."

She had said it herself: she only believed in something so vague and mysterious because it was documented. Still, she didn't want to draw conclusions so soon. "Eh, I'll believe it when I see it." she decided, taking another bite out of her hamburger.

As much as Lucas wanted to believe in Ness' writings, he was just as skeptical as Lanette. He may have seen many things that defied belief in his life, short though it was, but this was one of those times where he simply had to draw the line between reality and fantasy until he was proven otherwise. Until he saw the alleged power of the Sound Stone and the Sanctuaries with his own eyes, he'd take the words of the Black Diary with a grain of salt.

"Umm... if you don't mind my asking..." she spoke up, and he motioned with a nod for her to continue. "Does it say if one of those Sanctuaries is in a place called 'Neo Fourside?'"

Unsure of why she would ask about that place specifically, he skimmed through the book in search of the name. "...I don't see a _Neo _Fourside... but I do see just 'Fourside...'" he confirmed for her. Since Eagleland has since been renamed, it was safe to assume its towns and cities had followed suit, so 'Fourside' and 'Neo Fourside' were probably the same place. "Yeah, there's a Sanctuary called 'Magnet Hill' there. Why do you ask?"

Lanette fought the urge to scream in rage and frustration, and instead replied with, "It's nothing, just curious..."

Lucas closed the Black Diary and exhaled through his nose, knowing full well that was a lie. "It's not a good idea to lie to someone who can see your emotions without even trying..." he calmly reprimanded her as he put the book away in his back pocket again. Her stern glare showed she was _not_happy about him sneaking a peak at her feelings. "You can tell me if something is wrong, you know. I'll gladly help you out."

Her expression softened a bit, but she shook her head anyway and told him, "Thanks for offering, but... it's my own problem. To make a long story short, I have... issues with that place."

He was waiting for her to continue, but she didn't. Lucas could only assume that this had to do with her "personal" matters that she'd alluded to back at the slums. But whether or not Lanette would go to Neo Fourside, he _knew_ that _he _would have to eventually. "It's not too late to back out of this, Lanette..." he reminded her with a concerned tone.

She seemed to take the mere notion of running away personally. "No, no, no! Don't worry about me, I'm a tough girl. I'll get over it eventually." she assured him, and then grinned broadly. "Besides, do you really think I'll let you go on this crazy adventure solo?"

He allowed a smirk to play on his lips. _That _sounded more like the Lanette he'd come to know. "That's the spirit." he chuckled out. "Besides, it's not like we have to go to Neo Fourside first. There are seven other Sanctuaries to choose from."

She caressed her chin in thought. "Yeah, I guess that's true... where should we go first, then...?" she wondered, thinking hard. Unfortunately, she wasn't too good at geography or anything of the like... and judging from how Lucas was staring off into space at his now-empty hamburger wrapping, neither was he. Then again he said himself that he wasn't from around here, so he probably didn't know this area very well. She snapped her fingers then and pointed at him. "You know what we need? A _map_."

That sudden solution had come so quickly and been so obvious, that he felt like bashing his head onto the restaurant table for not thinking of it before. He settled for bashing into the palm of his hand instead so he wouldn't injure himself. "Why didn't I think of that...!" he growled under his breath, and Lanette could only laugh at his reaction. Well... it wasn't as if they could've snuck one out of the Resistance camp, not without getting caught. There was little point in beating himself up for it. Still, to not have thought about it until now, they could've very well left _without_ one and gotten lost on the way to Neo Eagleland. _Not_a good way to start their journey. It was a good thing she thought of it! He regained his composure and chuckled before telling her, "Maybe it's a good thing you're here after all..."

Lanette giggled happily, reaching over the table and ruffling her hand in his hair; it hadn't been washed in a while, but that was understandable, and she didn't really care. "_See_? Just because I'm not psychokinetic doesn't make me useless!" she teased him.

Lucas blinked at her and replied, "I don't remember saying that..."

A horrible, blaring sound interrupted the warm and fluffy moment they were having. It sounded like a car alarm... well, more like multiple car alarms, one blowing after another in flawless succession, each one sounding different than the last. The cacophony of noise was definitely coming through the window, and they turned to see a very odd sight: a triad of black and white cars had drove into the MacroMart parking lot, each of them with a pair of spinning lights on their hoods. One light was red, the other was blue.

"What the fuck?" Lanette muttered under her breath.

"Who are they?" Lucas asked her.

"The police." she informed him, remembering that he wasn't all that familiar with this place. "They're peacekeepers. Think of them as Government lackeys, only non-military." As she explained, the 'police' were getting out of their squad cars. They were dressed in navy blue uniforms with matching caps with black visors on their fronts, and a shimmering badge pinned to the left side of their jackets.

Lucas needed only to hear the word "Government" before he put two and two together. "In other words, we're in trouble."

"Umm... actually, I'm not sure we are..." Lanette muttered, her hand rubbing the back of her head in confusion. "Wouldn't they be sending the military after you make more sense? No, they _can't _be here for you."

He was about to ask why Government agents _wouldn't_ be here for him, until the reason finally dawned on him: she said they were _non_-military. If taking down a PSIber made him so dangerous, then why send simple law enforcers instead of people trained for the task of apprehending or killing him? She was right, the situation didn't add up. "Then... did something happen downstairs?" he wondered.

"Maybe... but either way, this is a huge pain in the ass we didn't need. A buck says they'll keep anyone from leaving until they're done their business." she grumbled, resting her elbow on the table and using the hand that belonged to it to support her head as it let out a frustrated puff of air. "As much as I'd like to get going, we'd better not pull any spectacular stunts so soon after the last one. We're in hot enough water as it is..."

That answer was hardly satisfactory for Lucas. Basically what she was saying was that they were being detained for a situation that may not even involve them, while they needed to get to somewhere in a hurry. Equally frustrated, he rested both arms on the table and lay his head down on them with a mutter of, "Typical..." He decided to make himself as comfortable as he could with a table and wooden chair as was possible, because he apparently wouldn't be going anywhere for a little while...

...Or maybe not. "Uhh... oh _shit_." It wasn't as if Lucas wasn't used to people cursing around him – in fact he knew a good friend in particular who cursed a blue streak – but he was still put on edge because usually when people cursed, it meant the situation had taken a turn in the wrong direction. He sat back up straight to see what had caught Lanette's attention from outside and noticed that a car that looked quite sleek had entered the parking lot and stopped by the police cars. It was coloured blacker than the night sky, blacker than the suits of the ones who had stepped out of it. Tall and lean, the two looked almost identical to each other with black tuxedos and thick, mirrored sunglasses, the only difference between them being their respective brown and white crew cuts.

Lanette was no longer leaning off of the table, having taken quite an interest in the two newcomers. He could clearly feel the concern emanating from her, seeing her bite down on her thumbnail in worry. "Now what?" he asked her, curious as to what could make this daredevil girl worry like this.

"Damnit... remember what I said about this not having anything to do with us? Yeah, forget about it." she corrected herself, trying not to sound too nervous, but her facade was almost nonexistent in his presence. "Those cops are here to keep people here, alright: _me _specifically, for those suited guys." she explained.

Now Lucas was the one concerned, for his friend. "Who are they?" he asked, wondering what anyone would want to do with an orphan girl like Lanette.

"Ooh... I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to explain later." she replied. "This kinda has to do with my backstory, and we don't have time to stroll down memory lane right now."

As suspicious as she'd made that sound, she had a point. Besides, whether people were here for Lanette or himself was irrelevant; he wouldn't let anything happen to his friend. He directed his gaze back to the window and saw the two suited men and two of the police officers disappearing from view underneath the window, probably entering the department store. "Then I hope you have a plan, because here they come."

She took a moment to think. "My bike must be able to do nearly double the speed of those junk heaps if I put my foot down... if we can sneak past these guys and get to it, we _should _be fine..." she theorized. As much as she didn't want to cause a fuss so soon after their last getaway, she couldn't think of anything else to do but sneak away and then run like Jack the Bear. The main problem was getting through those policemen who were standing guard at the door. "How are we going to get past those guys though... hmm..." She looked at them, then at Lucas... then at their empty food wrappers, and then back to Lucas. The gears turned in her head, and she regained that mischievous glint in her eye. "How good are you at faking a stomach ache?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow for the split second it took him to figure out what she was planning, and he flashed her a mischievous grin that was very uncharacteristic of him. "That depends on your definition of 'fake.'"

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And "fake" a stomach ache he did. "_Unnngh_! What was _in_ that burger!" Lucas moaned in pain that not even an actor could mimic. His eyes burned, his head was spinning and his stomach felt like it was doing backflips as Lanette eased his stumbling body to the store's main entrance. For security's sake, just in case any of the Government flunkies knew his face, his hood was up. He had to grab the side of her brand new shirt so he could walk straight. _"This had better be worth it...!"_he shouted in his head.

The moment the first set of sliding doors that lead to the outside opened, all of the four policemen standing outside had their eyes on them. Then the second set opened and exposed them to fresh air, two of those officers moved to stop their progress. "Hey! Stop where you are, no one is supposed to leave this area!" the one to the right said.

Lanette had to stop so suddenly that Lucas, in his queasy state, bumped into her back. This disoriented him much more than he needed to be. "What! But I need to get my friend to the hospital! He's howling like he's stomach's about to burst or something!" she complained to the officers. They didn't look convinced...

Until the dizzied boy picked what had to be the perfect moment to regurgitate some of the meal he'd just eaten not long ago onto the pavement, just barely missing her shoes.

The officers turned their heads up from it in disgust, while Lanette thought to herself, _"Damn, overdoing it aren't you!"_She then turned back to the policemen and continued, "See!" Lucas groaned as if to emphasize the point.

They looked at each other and, seeing that the boy really was in considerable pain, conceded. "Alright, alright, just let me search you two first." the right-side officer compromised, moving to the sick boy and patting down his shirt and pants for anything that looked or felt dangerous. Upon realizing he only had a book and a weird rock – he was just a child after all, so he assumed they were just random possessions – he moved onto the teenage escort. He immediately noticed the switchblades, but paid them no mind since they were common and not concealed, and only felt keys and a wallet. Neither of them had anything that screamed "dangerous," so he relented and finally said, "You're clean. Now get your friend some help."

With not another word to the officers, Lanette guided the poor soul through the parking lot. Only when they got to the other end, out of earshot of the policemen, and found her motorcycle did she speak. "_Dude_, way to take one for the team." she congratulated him. "Are you alright, though?"

Seeing that the immediate danger had passed, the young Psychokinetic put his power to work once again, his eyes glowing green under his hood. Lanette admitted only to herself that it made him look damn creepy. Not immediately, but as gradually as if it were, the pain that plagued his body was gone. "I am now." he told her, wiping the bile from his mouth.

Wasting no more time, both of them hopped onto the motorcycle one after the other. "How did you do that, anyway? I've _gotta _learn that trick." she inquired.

He chuckled at her curiousity. "It's... not really something you'd learn right away. I used PK Flash on myself." he explained.

"Ohhh, _that _one. That's the one that blinds people and makes them feel all shitty, right?" she guessed.

"Or knocks them out if you're lucky." He added. "I try not to do that though."

She supposed she could understand that. PK Flash was a random and dangerous ability that only skilled Psychokinetics were able to use with any real success, tricking the bodies of anyone unfortunate enough to be looking at the flash into thinking that they're very ill. The best-case scenario for the afflicted is getting blinded and tearing up, while the worst-case scenario is, as Lucas said, passing out. It was something the old man allegedly liked to use a lot...

Rather than waste time thinking about what had already been said and done, Lanette snapped back into the present and turned the key, making the motorcycle roar back to life. She didn't quite speed out of the parking lot yet; she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself and Lucas, so she took her time. They would surely be fine now that they were going.

Meanwhile, back at the front of the MacroMart, the two people in tuxedos and the other two police officers exited the store and rejoined the others. "Was she here?" the officer who had previously not spoken asked the spiffy agents.

"She definitely was. The cashier recognized her immediately." the suited man with white hair informed him.

"Who was that person who just left?" inquired the suited man with brown hair.

Looking back out to the road, the other officer replied, "Some girl helping her friend to the hospital. Ate a bad burger or something, even threw up." He pointed to the vomit on the ground to prove it.

The agents looked at each other with unchanging expressions; it was impossible to tell what was going through their minds. The white-haired man reached into his back pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a picture. "Did she look like this?" he asked, presenting it to the officers. They both looked at the article closely. Then their faces paled.

"Oh shit." they cursed simultaneously.

"You can't be serious!" the brown-haired agent scolded them, trying and failing not to lose his temper at the incompetent law enforcers. One of the officers who were with the agents facepalmed, while the other shook his head in disappointment in his colleagues.

The white-haired agent reached into his tuxedo and pulled out a black box with an antenna on it: a walkie-talkie. He pressed the "talk" button and said into it, "Attention all units, she's on the run. Keep your eyes peeled for a red motorcycle. Be careful, she has a child passenger."

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"So how did those guys know you were here?" Lucas asked as Lanette drove them through the streets of Eastville. They were filled with many more vehicles than earlier this morning, including some other motorcycles similar to hers. It seemed to be rush hour for people on their way to work.

She shook her head in irritation, but kept her eyes on the road while doing so. "I'll bet it was when I swiped my credit card at the cash register... should've figured they were keep tabs on my bank account, even if it _has _been three years." she explained to him, feeling quite idiotic for not remembering. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Watching her bank account? He understood the concept of a bank, but to identify her one transaction out of what had to be hundreds of others made every day? Then again this place was far more advanced than what he was used to, so he _supposed _it wasn't impossible... "Does that mean we won't be able to buy anything anymore?" he asked, slightly concerned that her miraculous stash of funds was now a double-edged sword.

"Yeah, not with my credit card at least..." she admitted to him. "I'm gonna have to get some paper money when I get the chance, something that isn't traceable. We'll find a bank or an ATM in the next town." she told him. Of course, that meant they'd have to scram from wherever the transaction was made, but surely that wouldn't be too difficult. They'd made it out of that last situation fine, didn't they?

But as fate would have it, no they did not.

At one of the intersections where the lights were green for them, a black car completely identical to the one at the MacroMart pulled out from the adjacent roadway despite that the light was red, and then stopped in the middle of the intersection, violating a number of traffic laws and, more importantly, blocking the path of the oncoming motorcycle. "_What the shit_!" Lanette shrieked, turning the front wheel frantically to avoid the sudden obstacle, but it was too late; they were simply to close for her to slow down or swerve to avoid a crash.

They screamed in horror, their worlds spinning as her panicked actions to avoid the black car sent the motorcycle lopsided until it fell over, throwing both of them hurtling off of the leather seat and onto the hard, unforgiving pavement.

Lucas was used to pain, but when he hit the ground elbow-first, it was absolutely agonizing, making his self-inflicted sickness feel like a bad dream in comparison. He surmised that it was broken. He had also hit his head, though not as hard as his arm, but it did serve to disorient him to the point where he could barely feel the blood leaking out of damaged limb. But his concern was not with his own well-being.

"Lanette...!" he called out to her, struggling to get into a position from which he could see what became of his friend, and the result was not good. She lay sprawled out in the middle of the road in a very uncomfortable-looking position, laying on top of her left arm. She didn't suffer any broken bones or anything from what he could see, but she was bleeding out of her head... and she wasn't moving. To hell with _his _injuries, whatever they were; she needed help!

But as he tried to move towards her, he felt something grab his shoulder painfully, preventing him from moving any further. It was where the shoulder met the neck, and incredible pressure was being put on it. He couldn't move, and his already-battered body couldn't take the foreign feeling.

He went limp, blacking out in an instant...

* * *

**A/N:** Oh dear, looks like our heroes counted their chickens before they hatched... just who are these Mr. Smith-ish people who are after Lanette? What will become of them now? The next verse will explain all...


	4. Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere, Verse 4

_Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere_

_Verse 4_

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Throbbing. No one enjoyed the misfortune of waking up with a throbbing headache; it just made the victim want to fall back to sleep to ignore it, but _once_ awake the inconsistent pain would prevent it.

Lanette felt like this was one of those times, but it was _so_ much worse than she ever remembered. "My head..." she groaned, her voiced slightly slurred as she reached for where the pain emanated from: right at the top. This was a bad idea, as the sting only intensified when her fingers made contact, but it didn't feel like hair when she touched it... more like paper. _"Bandaged... what the hell happened to me?"_ she thought.

Her mind struggled to recall the events prior to this horrible pain in her skull. She had just left that MacroMart place with Lucas, trying to get away from those agents... and then that black car pulled out in front of her motorcycle, and she lost control... and then...

Her eyes snapped open and she jolted herself upright as she realized the potential scope of the problem, and... seeing her current location confirmed her fears. It was a lavish bedroom with exquisite furniture and antique dressers and drawers along its walls, each looking more expensive than the last. There was a distinct "brown and red" theme, the rocking chair, couch and various other things that could be called "constructs" crafted painstakingly out of fine wood. That was the brown; the red was pretty much everything else, from the rug on the floor and paint on the walls, to the cushions and the sheets of the queen-sized bed she was laying on. Not one object in the room didn't scream "rich."

And that was why she was scared. There was only one house remotely close to Eastville that had bedrooms like this.

So she knew where _she herself_ was... then where was her friend? Looking around the bigger-than-necessary room, the only other human shape Lanette saw in the room was herself in the massive mirror hung on the wall. She saw that the extent of her injuries from the motorcycle crash were limited only to her head, where a carefully wrapped string of white bandages covered where the pain was worst. She considered herself lucky if the accident had been bad enough to knock her out, yet not do extensive damage to the rest of her body. But what of Lucas? He might not have been as fortunate... she had to find him, and quickly.

But as she was about to throw the covers off of her bed and get up, she heard the door handle click. Someone was coming in... there were a great many people who could want to see her right now, and out of them all there were only two that she could tolerate right now. One of them was Lucas, and the other was...

"O-oh, you're awake."

...thankfully the person who had arrived: Merelda Cain. Lanette breathed a mental sigh of relief, happy that Lady Luck seemed to still favour her despite the disaster that landed her here. Not that it meant she was especially happy to see the wife of Steven, Gods no, but she'd happily take her over him or any of his agents. But even then, she couldn't look her in the eye, instead directing her gaze out the window where the sun was beginning to rise. "...Why am I here...?" was her immediate question.

Her grumpy attitude was nothing short of what Merelda had anticipated. She had every reason not to be here, after all... it seemed she was the only one within a mile's radius of Steven who understood that. Still, she couldn't help but worry for her. "Oh Lanette, I'm so sorry..." she apologized, bowing her head in shame as she walked towards her, carefully touching the bandage on her head and being sure not to hurt her. "I can't believe they hurt you like this..."

She allowed the woman to "pat" her head for a few seconds before shaking it and telling her, "It was my fault. If I'd been better at driving-"

"Don't say that." Merelda promptly interrupted her, hugging the young teenager tightly. "This is _hardly_ your fault. The men who cut you off like that were fired on the spot."

Well, that news made Lanette feel a _little_ better, but it didn't solve her immediate problem. "I can't stay here." she reminded the older woman.

They both felt the pangs of remorse beating in their hearts, knowing that she was right. "I know..." she agreed. "But I don't know what I can do for you... security here has doubled since you were brought here. He won't just let you leave."

Lanette scoffed in annoyance. "Wonderful..." she murmured sarcastically, not surprised one bit. "But I'll be damned if I won't try... but first I need to find my friend." She looked to Merelda with expectation. "Do you... know where he is?"

Suddenly she was a lot less forthcoming, and hesitated before replying... but she told her anyway, because she felt that she at least deserved to know...

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Where was this place...?

It seemed like only half of Lucas' brain was working right, or at least that's what it felt like. His head was spinning terribly, and he was struggling to stay conscious. His whole body pulsed with some kind of numbing pain, a pain so bad that even opening his eyelids seemed like a chore. Not that he let that stop him.

And he immediately regretted it, for there was a very bright light directly above his head. He shut his eyes immediately and groaned, moving his hand to cover his face— wait... his hand wasn't moving. Neither was the arm it was attached to. And neither were any of his other limbs no matter how hard he tried. It felt like his entire body was being forced down. Panic swept through him; he did _not_ like being completely unable to move. What was wrong with him? He sought to remedy the problem with a use of PK Healing, and maybe some PK Lifeup to get his strength back—

Attempting to use his PSI was also a bad idea it seemed, as the moment he tried the dizziness almost doubled in intensity. All he could do was let out a strained gasp; it felt like the wind had been sucked right out of his lungs. Something... something was preventing him from using his PSI...

Something else was above him now, blocking the light... a person? He could only see the vague, blurry silhouette of a human's upper body in contrast to the bright light behind it. He tried to focus, to see who it was, but again his body refused to obey. It was as if the simple act of concentration was being robbed of him... what was going on?

Something penetrated the numbness then, a sharp pain where his neck met his left shoulder. His vision was fading to black again...

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"_Are you shitting me_!" Lanette shrieked, having lost all concept of politeness towards Merelda when she was informed of Lucas' current location: the secret underground laboratory section underneath this lavish manor, where he was being _experimented on_.

"I wish I were Lanette, I really do..." Merelda affirmed with exasperation. "I tried to convince him not to, but he wouldn't be swayed. He's seems to be under the impression that Nowhere Boy brainwashed you..."

"Nowhere Boy...?" she enunciated to herself, needing a moment to realize that she was indeed referring to her friend. No doubt that was what the Government was calling him. It sickened her that he was given such a demeaning title. Nowhere Boy... it was like calling him a nobody! "His name is _Lucas_!" she growled through clenched teeth.

Merelda did her best to keep calm despite Lanette's sudden flare of anger. "Lanette... is he really your friend?" she asked. She knew she wouldn't like the implication, but she wanted to be sure. "You weren't hypnotized by him in any way?"

"_Of course not_!" she snarled, appalled that she would even _think_ of asking the question. "Lucas is a good kid! He _saved my life_!" she defended him, with not two seconds of hesitation.

"Then why were you with him?" the older woman inquired.

"Huh?" That question had honestly caught Lanette by surprise, even though she felt like it shouldn't have. It was valid after all, she _was_ traveling with a known fugitive out of her own free will in spite of what Steven might think. "Oh, well... when the Resistance picked us up... I heard from a friend that they were going to use him against the Government... as a soldier..."

Now _that_ was shocking news. "_What_! They would use... a _child_ in the war!" she exclaimed. This blatant lack of morality and decency was something that she expected from the Government, who cared not whether the Psychokinetics they hunted were adults or children; they would destroy an entire city just to eliminate one target if they had to. But never did she think the Resistance, which fought for the _freedom and protection_ of Psychokinetics, would take a reportedly good-natured boy and throw him into the battlefield.

"Yeah... that was my reaction too. One of my friends didn't like it either." Lanette continued. "And Lucas _definitely_ hated the idea of even being involved in the war... so I wanted to help him. I took him and dipped on the Resistance jerks."

Merelda couldn't hide her grin. That was just like Lanette; she was a hothead that wouldn't hesitate to go bare-handed against even a PSIber, yet she had a heart of gold and would happily throw her own life away if it meant helping someone in need. There was no doubt that she was aware of the danger that she had put herself in by simply being around the boy... clearly she held him in high regard. She wondered how deep those feelings went... but now wasn't the time to inquire or tease about something so personal. She helped him not because she was made to, but because she _wanted_ to, and that was all she needed to know.

"And then I had to go and get caught by _these_ jerks... of all the people, why _them_...?" she finished, her tone turning depressed.

Merelda also frowned. It wasn't fair, how the vigilant and good-natured were constantly stepped on and the cruel and power-hungry ran everything in this nightmarish world. The car that cut her off might as well have been fate giving her a cold slap of reality, and yet "Lucas" was the one being punished instead. _"No... I won't let this stand."_ she decided in her mind. "Fate has a cruel way of putting us down, Lanette... but don't ever give in." she told her, reaching into the pocket of her bathrobe and pulling out... a card of some sort, similar in shape to a credit card, which she dropped into her hands. "The only reason we all fall down is to get back up."

She looked at the card with interest, wondering why she had gave her this. It was shimmering with a shade of silver, with a black stripe along the lower back of it. "What's this?" she asked.

"A keycard that will let you get into the underground lab." she explained to Lanette. Her eyes figuratively went as wide as dinner plates, looking at her with shock and confusion. "You can't stay here Lanette, and if he's really your friend, neither can he. There's no telling what might happen to him."

She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe, in spite of all the circumstances and obvious reasons why she _shouldn't_ be giving her this chance to save her friend, that she _was_ giving her this chance to save her friend. "But... _why_...!" she had to ask, barely able to refrain from shouting.

"Because you _have_ to." she replied sternly. "I'd much rather you stay here and be safe, but... I'd be lying to myself if I made you do that. You _want_ to help him because you believe you have to, and no one has the right to deny you that. Not me, and definitely not him." She reached out and touched her shoulder, squeezing it to calm her down. "Just... promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

Now Lanette couldn't hide her grin. Surely she knew what the answer to that would be. "No promises." It still boggled her that there were people with this level of understand and compassion alive in this world, especially those so close to the greedy and corrupt. But she wouldn't complain, in fact she was happy. As long as people like that still drew a breath, the hope for a better tomorrow was never really gone.

She dared to smile at her one last time. "Now get going, before he decides to pay you a surprise visit."

The covers were thrown off of the bed in an instant. She didn't need to be told that twice.

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Steven was cursing himself in his mind, over and over again. He had been such a fool, and his men had been so inept to let her fall into the hands of one of those... _demons_! That was what he thought of Psychokinetics as, naught but demons bent on the destruction of mankind. There were many reasons to back up the bold claim after all, the war against the Government being the ultimate proof of that; they refused to simply fade into nonexistence. They threatened everything he is and was... thus he had no problem aiding the Government in turning their own power against them. And yet this girl, who he hadn't seen since _years_ ago had been found with one of them...

But that wasn't the only reason he was cursing himself. No, his obligation to the Government and the PSIber project took priority over even that, at least according to Vice President Edel. He knew what that man was like, either ignorant of simply non-caring of the turmoil others were going through, and he would want information regarding PSIber-Silver's errors on the battlefield as soon as possible, a job that had already pushed back a day due to the incident in Eastville. As much as he wanted to just flip the lanky man off and see her, it wouldn't help his position at all. Eventually he settled for just doing the work he was assigned to get it out of the way.

Well, at least he was a scientist at heart. As vile as the concept was to him, anything he could learn about Nowhere Boy's mysterious brand of Formless PSI could aid in the Government war effort as well as assuring his safety from the Resistance.

The general desire was that he would be able to see things that the eggheads in those Government facilities missed, which was an apt theory since he was the inventor of the PSIber system. Frames of the video and system code from PSIber-Silver's memory was projected onto the flat-screen in his office. On the screen of his laptop was the programming code of every other PSIber currently active, being cross-checked with each other and PSIber-Silver's supposedly faulty operating system. Well... perhaps "supposedly" wasn't the right word. There had always been some problems specifically with PSIber-Silver, and he could only hope that this wasn't one of those. Not that he'd be surprised if the Government used a recurring issue with different circumstances as an excuse to make him do something...

Unfortunately though, the lack of differences in the code either big or small found by the computer and his scrutinizing eyes told him that this _was_ a recurring issue. However, there was also definitely something different about it... which justified Edel's request. Damnit. Barely-restrained anger at the Vice President ignored for now, he did confirm that PSIber-Silver's system had suffered numerous errors after the indirect Formless PSI from Nowhere Boy to her blades. However, he was having trouble figuring out exactly _how_ it affected her. This wasn't the first time she had been hit with Formless PSI – he wouldn't forget the Government-wide panic that resulted from Old Man beating her within an inch of her life – but this _was_ the first time such errors occurred from being hit by Formless PSI in general, and based on his offhand knowledge of Psychokinetics, Formless PSI was simply a massive mental attack instead of something that caused illness and the like. But for whatever reason, it affected PSIber-Silver in a non-physical way. Her sudden and radical changes in priority were a bug he had yet to squash, but why would that one attack trigger that bug when it hadn't before?

It was becoming obvious to Steven that the answer to this mystery didn't lie within PSIber-Silver's operating system, but rather the Formless PSI that caused it to malfunction.

Pressing the button on his phone that enabled the exterior speaker and dialing a quartet of buttons, he slumped in his chair and rested his weary eyes while waiting for the Government scientists in his basement to answer. "Doctor Simon reporting." came the reply from a nasally voice that was barely intelligible over the phone line.

"It's Steven." he spoke. "I'd like a progress report."

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid there's no progress to report." the scientist told him with exasperation. Steven resisted the urge to growl, not in the mood for jokes. "For someone so young, Nowhere Boy's mind is incredibly strong and stubborn. We had to physically sedate him just now because he nearly caused the PSI-suppression system to overload."

"_What_!" he boomed over the phone, completely surprised and aggravated. "How is that possible!" he demanded.

"W-we honestly don't know." Simon replied, his voice quivering a bit. "There's definitely nothing wrong with the system's connections or the system itself, so the only explanation is that he simply won't give up. We're only able to gather bits and pieces of his mental processes before his mind starts to resist. "

Steven was in a state of utter disbelief. The PSI-suppression system was the heart and soul of the PSIber project, and the only reason that they could take Psychokinetics down with such ease and efficiency. It emits a special frequency that disturbs the higher brain functions of those not properly equipped, a means of disrupting the extrasensory PSI abilities. A _single person_ causing it to fail - a _child_ whose brain shouldn't be so well developed, no less! - was unheard of. Was this random child who had popped up out of nowhere really this powerful? Just who _is_ he? "Sedate him as necessary if it happens again, but don't put his life at risk. Any information about his Formless PSI we can dig up might be invaluable, so we can't lose him." he ordered.

"Understood."

The scientist down below hung up. Steven exhaled loudly, the stress of the day starting to get to him. And for good reason, the most prominent being that the Government didn't yet know that Nowhere Boy was _here_. He didn't want them to take him away just yet. No... once the boy had been stripped of his secrets, then he would be made to _pay_ for what he did to Lanette... the demise of such a powerful demon by his own hand... the Government would revere him as a hero for destroying their biggest threat.

Yes... he could be patient for a little while longer...

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Lanette _still_ couldn't believe that she was receiving aid from Merelda of all people. She had a great many reasons _not_ to, their respective safety the biggest of them all; there was no knowing how Steven would react to this turn of events when he found out about it. And he _would_ find out eventually. She didn't know how much time she had, and she dare not waste any of it as she snuck through the halls of Cain Manor in search of the entrance to the underground laboratory.

Well, perhaps "search" wasn't the right term. She had _lived_ in this manor, ever since she was young. Back then she was young and curious to a fault, wanting to learn about whoever and whatever she came into contact with. She explored the manor. Oftentimes she would sneak into and explore the underground laboratory. And most desperately, she wanted to see the outside world. As a result, she knew this whole place like the back of her hand. She knew exactly where she had to go, and even had a vague idea as to where Lucas might be.

But as she had to quickly duck behind the corner of a hallway, avoiding being in the line of sight of a butler nonchalantly making his way down an adjacent hall, it was clear that _getting_ there would be the major challenge. It's not as if stealth wasn't her specialty, in fact she had to resort to a few... _unsavoury_ means in order to survive in the Eastville Slums, but that was before the war began to involve Steven Cain. Being a valuable asset to the Government and a main target of the Resistance, security was sure to have been tightened a fair bit since she was a child. But she refused to let it daunt her. She kept silent, pressed flat against the wall and hoped to hell that the gray-haired butler wasn't headed in her direction...

Thankfully, he seemed not to notice her at all while he continued straight forward. Breathing a mental, soundless sigh of relief, Lanette snuck around back of him and tiptoed through the hallway he came from, and kept going until she reached the mid-way point of the hall: a spiraling staircase that branched between the first and third floors of the manor, and she was currently on the third while her destination was on the first. If memory served, the stairs had an unstable portion in the middle that would produce a loud "creak" whenever stepped on. She didn't want to make a whole lot of noise right now, so it looked like she'd have to continue her daredevil streak.

She only went down a few steps, enough to see that there was no one down there, before leaping over the oaken railing and letting gravity take care of her descent. She was well-trained in martial arts and very athletic, so a fall from a couple of floors of a building – provided it went unimpeded – wasn't a huge problem. Her shoes made barely any noise when they and her hand touched down on the carpet of the first floor, at which point she swiftly hid behind a wall again, just in case there was anyone in the hallway she wanted to go down. She peeked her head around the corner, and saw that the way was clear.

She continued on her predetermined path, noting with a bit of irritation that the door to her destination was closed. It wasn't usually closed from what she could remember... of _course_ it would have to be closed now. If there was someone in there, she wouldn't be able to proceed. She pressed her ear against the door, careful not to move it in any way, so that she could listen in on anyone talking inside. She heard no one... hopefully that meant no one was there. Taking a necessary gamble, she opened the door and peeked through it... and not seeing a soul inside, she entered and quietly shut the door behind her.

The area in question was what any normal civilian would define as a living room, which richer people would refer to it as the "Common Room." It was no less lavish than the bedroom she'd woken up in, although where that room was red, there room was blue. It gave a more regal feel. The aesthetic differences were that the room was octagon-shaped, a _massive_ chandelier stuck out of the high ceiling, a huge flat-screen television was sunk into the leftmost wall, and there was a wooden cabinet with glass doors that held all sorts of expensive-looking alcohol and wine.

That last one is what she was here for. It's a common practice for rich people to indulge on such expensive drinks in their spare time, but not Steven Cain. She knew him well enough that he never so much as _touched_ the stuff at any point in his life, it was more for the enjoyment of guests. But there was one bottle containing an alcohol that no one seemed to enjoy, with a green label she didn't care to read and filled to the brim with a white liquid. And thus, if no one wanted it, it would never have to leave its spot. She opened the liquor cabinet and pulled on the bottle, and it moved like a lever of sorts, not actually leaving its spot.

She pulled on it until she heard a _click_. The wall adjacent to the liquor cabinet started to move, sections of it pushing out slightly and then moving to the side... to reveal a small, metal door that really clashed with the atmosphere of the common room. This was the entrance to the underground lab. Lanette smirked, remembering that Steven had a flair for the dramatic. Beside the door was a card reader, which she wasted no time using with the card Merelda gave her earlier. There was a faint "beep," and the metal doors hissed open to reveal and elevator. She stepped inside and closed the doors immediately, then felt gravity shift as it started to descend...

She leaned against the rumbling elevator wall and exhaled deeply, trying to psych herself up. Getting here was the easy part. It would get a lot more difficult from here on...

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He'd went over the programming code and error messages of PSIber-Silver many times, cross-checked them with the programming code and error messages of the other PSIber's many times and even rebuilt her code from the ground up many times. For the life of him, Steven just could _not_ figure out the relationship between Nowhere Boy's Formless PSI and PSIber-Silver's malfunctions without in-depth knowledge of how the boy's PSI works. It was frustrating to him as a scientist not to be able to solve a problem that he felt should be so simple.

It helped not one bit when that frustration was compounded on by a surprise phone ring that startled him half to death. Exhaling with a gravelly tone, he looked the caller ID, and was _not_ happy to see "Presidential Office" on the display. That could only mean either the President or Vice President – usually the latter – and he was _not_ in a talkative mood right now. But refusing a call from someone so high up the bureaucratic chain of command was generally a bad idea, so he had no choice but to answer it...

Not to his surprise at all, Vice President Edel's face was the one to appear on the large screen. "Hello, Steven." he greeted, trying to sound as polite as possible... which wasn't easy for him, especially with the disapproving frown on his face.

He wasn't eager to return the mock politeness either, and got straight to the issue he was sure the lanky man was calling about. "If this is about PSIber-Silver, I'm still working on it. I thought we agreed that I'd contact you when it was done." he scolded.

Edel decided to return the rude attitude. If Steven wouldn't give any quarter, then he wouldn't either. "Not surprising, since you were obviously shirking your duties yesterday." he snapped, not giving him a second before holding a newspaper up in the image. The main headline on it was clear, but he read it out anyway. "Billionaire Steven Cain and his agents cause a car accident in Eastville." He then _slammed_ the paper back down onto his desk, causing Steven to jump a little. "When I give you an assignment to you, you _do_ it. You do _not_ ignore it and go on a joyride!"

This lecture from the Vice President was not something Steven was in the mood for, and he promptly countered, "Well, _excuse_ me if the PSIber Project isn't the only affair I have on my table! I have important _family_ matters to attend to as well!"

Edel glared, but this time he did not raise his voice. Instead, he smiled grimly and said, "Whatever. It had better not continue though, I'd _hate_ to penalize you..." He knew this was a flat-out lie, but he said nothing. "So personal problems aside, what _have_ you found out about little lady Silver?"

Steven shook his head, groaning. "Its old news, I'm afraid. She's just having her sporadic command issues..."

The wide hand of the Vice President slapped the head of its owner. "Oh, not _this_ crap again..."

"It gets worse, I'm afraid." Steven continued. "She was operating completely fine before suffering from Nowhere Boy's attack. Whatever bugs she had were brought out exclusively by his Formless PSI, right when it hit her blades."

"...You're kidding me."

"I wish I were, Edel." he told him. "I can't tell you anything else, I'm afraid... I can't find the connection between PSIber-Silver's malfunction and the Formless PSI though, _especially_ since she was once hit with Old Man's without this happening." he explained. "I have no way of knowing if this will affect the other PSIbers _or_ how I'll fix it without in-depth knowledge of how Nowhere Boy's specific strain of PSI works."

This wasn't good news to Edel, not at all. "So basically what you're saying is, this squirt of a Psychokinetic could potentially be the undoing of the PSIbers."

"Yep." He wasn't about to tell him that Nowhere Boy was with him though, not yet... "I'll keep trying to find out what I can, but the only advice I can give is to double your efforts in finding him."

Edel's eyebrow raised, now made completely invisible by the brown hat he always wears. "What? You mean you don't have him?"

The hair on Steven's neck practically stood on end. "Wh... _what_? Why the devil would _I_ have him!" He had no idea what prompted Edel to ask that question, but it immediately gave him a bad feeling...

It wasn't helped that when he saw the shadow of that chilling smile and sadistic gleam in the Vice President's eye, and while they were gone as quickly as they came, the fear they instilled wasn't so quick to disappear. "Ehh, I just thought since the kid was last sighted in the Eastville Slums, and since _you_ were in Eastville recently..."

He calmed himself down a bit, regaining his composure and scoffing. "Really, Edel. I'm a scientist, not a secret agent. Do you really think I'd want any enemy that powerful _anywhere near_ me or my lab?"

The lanky man chuckled and teased, "So it's true what they say about rich people. They're just a bunch of cowards hiding behind people and their guns~"

_"What was that_!" Steven roared, standing up from his chair and his face turning red with rage.

"I'm joking, I'm _joking_!" Edel said quickly, trying to hold back his laughter. "Sheesh Steven, you get worked up so easily..."

He was starting to wish this miserable excuse for a Vice President was actually in the room with him so he could beat that immaturity out of him. "Are we done here?" he asked, wanting this to be over with.

"Yes, yes, go back to work now."

And then the video feed cut out, replacing the screen's display with his data analyzing programs again. God_damn_, that man aggravated him so much... he was starting to consider using his latest anti-PSI weapon on _him_ for a test run. The thought of that calmed him down in an instant, as well as made him chuckle a little... the thought of the idiot wetting his pants at the sheer _sight_ of his latest project was entertaining indeed.

But before that, he'd have to get their current problem resolved. He'd received no new notifications from the scientists studying Nowhere Boy... he needed that information as soon as possible to get the overdressed monkey off of his back. Maybe he should just go down there to help and try to make this go faster...

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The underground lab was such a drastic change from the manor that one might wonder how they existed so close to each other. The manor was a very classy and fancy place adorned with all sorts of valuable antiques set on pedestals, red carpets everywhere and finely-polished wood for walls. The lab was only half the size of the manor and had only one floor, encased in walls of shimmering metal with fluorescent tubes on the equally-metal ceiling that served for lighting. The floor was a polished ceramic, probably to maintain some semblance of style. Meant for more of a personal and private workspace than anything, it held all of the important data and experiments about anti-Psychokinetic weaponry and was so secret that only Steven's most trusted associates were supposed to know about it.

Of course, having been a little girl when she accidentally discovered it, Lanette obviously wasn't one of the trusted. And for good reason, because this place didn't have a single good memory in her mind. She hated this place with a burning passion, almost as much as she hated _him_ for creating it to begin with. Creating weapons, some of them molded out of _living beings_, to fight in a war that had consumed the world... that someone would _willingly_ partake in the slaughter of hundreds, perhaps thousands or even _millions_ – God only knew how many Psychokinetics there were in the world – baffled and horrified her to no end. It truly was amazing how just a little anger and greed could drive someone to do such terrible things...

She snapped herself out of her reverie, remembering that one of those terrible things was taking place right now as she crept through the lab. She had to be extra careful since not only were scientists and the like constantly moving from room to room, but there was no soft ground to mask her footsteps. Again though, it was fortunate that she had a good idea of where to go. There were only so many suitable places to operate on a "specimen" after all. Specimen... that's probably all that Steven and the rest of these people thought of Lucas as. It enraged her to the core. She had half a mind to hope that whoever was experimenting on him was still in the room when she got there, so she could give him a piece of her mind.

Fortunately for her it seemed that everyone was focused on the new sets of goals that came with having a known criminal on their operating table, so sneaking around them was very tedious and nerve-wracking, but not horribly difficult. Especially since her destination was at the end of the lab opposite that of the entrance elevator. She was as quiet and quick as a human could be, and in no time she was at the dead-end hallway lined with various doors, each one a designated operating room. The rooms where the PSIbers were created... they scared her back then, and they scared her now. How Lucas had stood up to one with no fear of the consequences was nothing short of admirable.

And speaking of "Nowhere Boy," _there he was_, spied through the window of the third door she peeked through. Much to her pleasure, there _were_ scientists in there; something to take out her frustration on. She took one last look down the hallway to make sure no one saw her, before slipping the key card into the door's card reader. Of its own volition, the door swung open.

The scientists only had a split second to see who had entered, before that person rushed in and delivered a solid kick to the closest one's face. It was forceful enough to send him sprawling onto his back, along with whatever terminals and machinery happened to be behind him with a loud _crash_. "What the- _you_!" the other scientist shouted through his face mask, stunned at what had just happened and unsure of what to do. So he did the first thing that came to mind: attempt to restrain the young woman that had intruded on the lab. A bad idea, as when he tried to grab her, she simply tripped him with a hard kick to his shin, and he tumbled onto the ground with a hard _thud_.

Satisfied that she'd at least gotten a good hit on them both, she turned her attention to Lucas, who seemed to be out cold on the operating table, yet still had each of his limbs, his neck and his waist bound to it by thick metal clamps. There was also a metal bowl of some kind attached to his head that had many prongs sticking out of it, and a cable that disappeared into the machinery that the first scientist toppled over when he fell. She noted with disgust that his left arm was bent at a rather unnatural angle from the elbow downward, and also had a decently-sized scrape upwards of that elbow. He _had_ been in a motorcycle accident prior to this, so there was no doubt in her mind that it was broken. She wasn't sure who to be angrier at, herself for allowing this to happen to him, or the scientists here for not even bothering to tend to his wounds.

She moved along the table, pressing the appropriate buttons on each side to release the clamps, and quickly moved to his head and shook him by the shoulder while pulling the unbecoming metal "hat" off. "C'mon kid, now's not the time to be dozing off!" she scolded him, before she noticed a redness on his shoulder... a redness that had formed into a bruise. She knew what it was: a needle mark. They drugged him with something. Now completely furious, she turned to the second scientist who was trying to crawl out of the room. She would have none of it, pulling him up by his collar, spinning him around to face her front and slammed him against the wall. "_What did you do to him_!" she screeched.

"I-I... I just gave him a s-s-small sedative! I swear!" the scientist stammered from fear.

_"A sedative... so they couldn't keep him out with the PSI-suppressor?"_ she realized with a bit of curiousity and a lot of amazement. That boy was one hell of a fighter. "How do I wake him!" she demanded.

His visible skin paled, afraid of what she would do when he answered her. "Y-you can't... he'll only wake up when the sedative burns through his system!"

Indeed, he was right to be afraid. "Wrong answer." she told him coldly, throwing him into the nearest rack of medical supplies and watching him go down with it. There was no choice then, she'd have to carry Lucas out of here. She scooped the boy up onto her back, cursing inwardly as his broken arm dangled limply in front of her, and dashed out of the operating room.

She wasn't happy when she encountered three more scientists in her path, wondering what on earth the noise was. "What the! What is she doing with Nowhere Boy!" one of them exclaimed.

"Not _leaving_ with him if I can help it!" another said, both he and the other speaker rushing at her with no hesitation. Hoping Lucas couldn't feel any pain while unconscious, she had to set him down a bit harshly in time to intercept her attackers, delivering a hard punch to one of the stomachs, then a roundhouse kick to the other's head.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed the third, apparently a female, before running down the right-side corridor. This was followed shortly by the sound of security alarms blaring throughout the complex.

"Shit." Lanette cursed. She took Lucas back up onto her back and made a mad dash for the entrance elevator.

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The thing about security klaxons is that they're intentionally loud, so loud that even people above ground can hear them. Namely, people like Steven Cain. "What the devil!" he said, just about to shut down his computer and head down to the underground lab. "_Now_ what!"

Not too long after, his phone started to ring. He picked it up immediately, receiving the frantic voice of a female on the other end. "Mister Cain, it's an emergency! Someone just broke into the lab and took Nowhere Boy!"

"_What_!" he roared, his fingers reaching for his computer mouse and minimizing windows. Behind all of the windows that contained his research material, he had his own program for watching through his security cameras. He had Nowhere Boy's room pulled up, and was horrified at what he saw: both scientists sprawled out on the floor under a pile of either machines or medical supplies, and their test subject absent from the operating table. "Who did this!"

"A woman, sir! Teenage, with a white cast on her head!"

"White cast on her-" he stopped. He knew exactly who the scientist was talking about. _"But that's impossible... can he control her even while unconscious! Was this why he'd been trying so hard to fight the PSI-suppressor?"_

"Sir, what do we do!" the caller pleaded.

If Lanette was really still under Nowhere Boy's influence, then he was even stronger than he feared. This would take more drastic measures to rectify. "Security teams will already be scrambling, but in case they aren't enough, I want you to get the Destructor ready!"

"_What_! But it not finish-"

"_Just do it_!" he ordered, before slamming the phone down. He couldn't believe this was happening. _"How was he still controlling Lanette while unconscious, and hindered by the PSI-suppressor no less!"_ he asked himself. _"Did I make a mistake by taking him into my own custody?"_

But there was no time to second guess himself now. He'd been the one to start this gamble, and he would see it through no matter what. He ran out of his office to where the "Destructor" was supposed to be...

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Lanette seriously wished the elevator would go faster than it did; she was in a hurry, damn it! Once she was back in the common room, she immediately ruled out running to the garage to steal a vehicle since the inside of the manor was no doubt crawling with security agents now. Then where could she go? The glanced around the room, noticing the broad window that took up the majority of the back wall. There, she'd exit that way. Setting Lucas down for a moment, she grabbed the lightest and smallest piece of furniture she could find – a rocking chair as it turned out - and hurled it at the glass, wasting no time and picking up her friend as it shattered to pieces. It was a bit chancy, but she might find a useable vehicle out in the driveway.

She jumped out of the window and, upon landing on the lush grass of the lawn, ran around the manor and sprinted in that direction. There, at the very end of the driveway... a motorcycle! _Her_ motorcycle! She couldn't possibly mistake the shape for anything else. She ran for it like her life depended on it, purposely weaving between the other vehicles in the driveway to trip up any pursuers – she hadn't bothered to check if there _were_ any, but it didn't hurt to be careful – and saw that, amazingly, the motorcycle's keys were _still in the ignition_. Surely Steven's men weren't _that_ stupid... she chalked it up to be Merelda's doing.

Not wasting time looking a gift horse in the mouth, she mounted the bike and set Lucas down on her lap in front of her. He couldn't hold onto her while unconscious, after all. She turned the engine over, and plowed forth towards... a closed metal gate. Of course, they weren't so silly as to leave the gate of a billionaire's house _open_... but they wouldn't be going anywhere if the obstruction wasn't removed. Making another daredevil move, she put her foot down and charged with all the momentum the bike could muster, also popping a wheelie for added effect. With a resounding _clang_, the massive forward momentum broke through the gate's center, sending metal grating flying in both directions while she continued on. _"Hope that buffs out..."_ she thought, looking with disdain at a hefty dent the motorcycle sustained to its front chassis plating.

The security agents piled up to the gate, watching helplessly as Lanette drove off into the distance. "_Don't just stand there_! Get to your cars!" one of them shouted suddenly. The rest of them turned around and followed suit...

...But then they stopped again, enthralled with a new spectacle.

Something was behind the large manor... something big, taller than the building by a foot or two, rising up into the sky. Its figure was easily big enough to block out the sun, leaving only its silhouette visible from their viewing angle, and its unnatural shaping made it impossible to identify. Then, with fire coming out of the bottom of the massive object, it surged forth with the sound and volume of a jet engine in the direction of the escaping duo.

Most of the agents just stood there, wondering what on earth they'd just seen... but then they remembered they had a job to do. They continued running for their vehicles and prepared to give chase as well.

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They had to get away from Fourside. While Lanette _did_ remember that it was one of their future destinations, now just wasn't the time to go looking for the "Sanctuary" alluded to in the Black Diary, not while Steven and his goons were after them. Seeing nothing in front of them, she took her eyes off of the road for a brief second to look at Lucas. He still seemed to be unconscious... "Fucking idiots... if I'd handled myself better, they wouldn't have gotten to you..." she told him, ashamed of both them and herself...

Then the distinct, thunderous sound of that jet engine broke her out of her depression.

She looked at the rear-view mirror of her motorcycle to see... _something_ tearing through the blue sky in her direction. "What the _hell_...!" she muttered. This thing was clearly faster than her motorcycle, and overtook it in mere seconds. Then it slowly started to descend to the road... and it produced a loud _thunk_ as it touched down, right in her path. The thing was large enough to block both lanes. Rather than have a repeat of what happened last time, Lanette reluctantly skidded her motorcycle to a stop a few feet short of the obstruction, enough to get a good look at it.

"Mmh..." It was perhaps fortunate that Lucas had decided to regain consciousness, his body starting to stir in her lap. "Where..." He lazily turned his head in the direction of the thing.

Suddenly he was very wide awake.

"_What in the world is that_!" The newest obstacle barring their path was an absolutely huge machine, its size on par with another battle machine that Lucas had once encountered in his own journeys. The sight of another one was more than enough to fully bring him back into the waking world, even if he was still a little disoriented.

"Glad you're back with us, Lucas." Lanette said, her voice devoid of the joy and relief she should be experiencing at seeing him conscious again. "We have a... _problem_..."

The machine was large and loosely shaped like a human in the way its arms and legs were positioned, although the left one arm missing. It had no actual head per-se, but there was a large section of glass in the body arranged in a hexagon-shape, held in place by thick metal plates. Most of it was also covered in the same polished metal, but not all of it, leaving a number of various circuits and gears and such visible. Whatever this thing was, it was obviously incomplete, yet still looked very capable of crushing them under its heel.

"Stop where you are, Nowhere Boy."

The voice echoed from the machine, male, gruff and commanding. Lanette recognized it immediately. "Shit... it _would_ have to be him...!"

Lucas was busy tending to both his exhaustion and his wounds, alternating both PK Healing and PK Lifeup as he grabbed his broken arm and popped it back into place. His resulting scream of agony got Lanette's attention. "I'm fine! Just... working the kinks out..." he informed her through gritted teeth, seething as he quickly used his PSI to evict the pain in his arm as well as restore its functionality. "Do you... know that pilot...?" he asked.

Seeing that Lucas seemed to have his injuries under control, but nonetheless sympathetic about the pain he must be going through because of his arm, she answered his inquiry. "Yeah... he's the reason I didn't want to come back to Neo Fourside." she informed him grimly. "Lucas... meet my Dad."

His eyes went wide. "Your... _Dad_!" he repeated. The large, incomplete machine started to lumber towards them as they spoke.

"Yeah." she confirmed for him. "One of the most rotten people working for the Government. He's the one who started the PSIber Project and made most of their anti-Psychokinetic weaponry." Lucas could say nothing in response. He didn't need to in order to know her feelings, because he could see them clear as day: anger, intense anger unlike any he'd ever felt before, not even from his previous hot-headed friend. And all of it directed towards the man in the machine. "All those Psychokinetics... all their blood is on _his hands_...!" Her fists were clenched shut, shaking from suppressed rage.

Closer the mechanical beast trudged along the road. Lucas looked at it, knowing full-well that a machine this big in this world had only one purpose: to destroy things. And the man piloting it had created similar machines, also with the purpose of destroying things. This man... he knew this kind of man only too well. It was thanks to the actions of such a man that his life was ruined.

That's all it took for Lucas to find his own inner rage, his right hand closing into a fist and starting to spark with the basic green energy of his PSI. It took him a moment to repeat the gesture with his left hand, but eventually he worked his way around the injury. "That's why I'm not an orphan like the others were... my parents aren't really dead. I just... ran away..." Lanette finished, looking at the man with ferocity in her eyes.

He said nothing, but he fully understood. He wouldn't want to be affiliated with a monster like that either, even if it _were_ his own father. The hulking machine had reached them now... and so had the pursuing security agents. They came to a stop in a haphazard fashion, effectively forming a barricade of steel. There was no ideal terrain to drive the motorcycle on now; four-wheeled vehicles had the advantage in an off-road race, and her father's machine had already proven capable of outrunning them. "There is no escape for you now, Nowhere Boy." Lanette's father boomed from the cockpit. They could see him, strapped tightly into a black, leather chair and gripping a pair of red joysticks. He hadn't bothered to change out of his casual clothing and as such didn't look all that assuming as a pilot, but the threat he represented was still very real. Lucas could tell that this man had nothing but contempt for him.

Suddenly, his view was blocked by Lanette who stood in front of him, arms spread wide in a motion for her father to stop. "Stop, Dad!" she pleaded with him. "He's not evil! He's-"

"How _dare_ you!" Steven roared, not even hesitating in cutting Lanette off. "Insolent _demon_! You would use my daughter as a shield!"

Her heart sank.

_"I tried to convince him not to, but he wouldn't be swayed. He's seems to be under the impression that Nowhere Boy brainwashed you..."_

"_A shield_!" Lucas exclaimed, outright horrified at what he was implying. "Why would I use her as a shield!"

"To get to me!" he replied promptly. "Admit it, dog! You only saved her so that you could use her to reach _me_!"

"_What_!" he shrieked. "I would _never_-"

"Don't bother trying to talk to him, Lucas." Lanette interrupted him, her voice low. "He thinks you brainwashed me..."

"_Brainwashed_ you! But I can't even _use_ PK Hypnosis!"

"Try telling _him_ that." she challenged him. "Dad's stubborn as a mule. Once he gets an idea in his head, he'll _never_ admit he's wrong. He thinks all Psychokinetics are like demons bent on the destruction of all mankind or something. And since he's the one who _made_ most of the anti-Psychokinetic weaponry... well, he's paranoid."

That last part was the only thing that made Lucas stop to think. He could only imagine that in a war scenario, there were a great many people that would want him either in custody or dead. Yes, he had every right to be paranoid, but to be stubborn to the point where he thought the golden-hearted boy would use a good friend of his as a _human shield_? Lucas had to draw the line somewhere. "Then... you must know how this has to play out." he told her. Lanette lowered her arms, looking back to him. In spite of the tension in the air, he could see the softness in her eyes. "He's still your father... if you don't want me to hurt him, I won't."

It was true. Steven _was_ her father. As much as she hated him, that's what made it so hard for her to tell him, "Do what you have to do."

Hesitant but still adhering to her choice, Lucas gave her a slow nod and walked out in front of her. She stepped back as he faced the metallic titan her father piloted. "You, Lanette's father!" he addressed him. Steven narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what kind of a monster you think I am, but I would _never_ sacrifice another person for my own sake!" he shouted at him. "You might be my friend's father, but if you don't get out of our way right now, I _will_ make you regret it! You have once chance to calm down so we can settle this civilly!"

This seemed to be all of the provocation that Steven's security force needed, as they started rushing forward. "_Stop_!" Steven himself commanded, and they did as they were told. "Don't interfere! He's _mine_!" he ordered them. They looked at him with surprise, but they obeyed. His gaze turned back to Lucas. "To be perfectly honest..." he began. "Even if you hadn't been using my daughter like you were, I wouldn't care. You are still a Psychokinetic that can use Formless PSI, a brand of it that severely damaged one of my PSIbers. You're too dangerous to let go, for both me _and_ the Government." The arm of the robot opened its three-pronged fist, then _closed_ it with force. "You can either surrender the secrets of your PSI so we can better eliminate your kind and purify this world of you demons, or I'll grind you into dust here and now with this Destructor. The choice is yours, Nowhere Boy."

For Lucas, the choice was very obvious, and it was none of the above. "In other words, I either die or allow thousands of _other_ people to die because I chickened out." he reiterated. "_Forget it_!"

Unnoticed by everyone, someone had come up from behind the barrier of black security cars. It was Merelda Cain, having seen the onflict in its beginning and having heard the argument as she rushed to witness it up close. She held her hands to her chest and said to herself, "Steven... may God have mercy on you for what you're about to do..."

His choice made the inventor of the PSIber Project grin with sadism. "So be it!" he growled with finality, bringing the Destructor's massive arm back in an arc that clearly indicated a punch was incoming.

Lucas' instincts screamed at him to jump out of the way, but then he remembered that Lanette and a handful of other innocent people were right behind him. _"And he's accusing _me_ of using meatshields!" _he thought to himself; if he moved, then the claw would decimate all of those people. Then he had no choice but to repel it like he did with PSIber-Silver's blades before and pray that it would send it back far enough. If he was going to fight this behemoth, he needed more space away from the others.

In perfect timing with the huge punch as it swung at him, he thrust his own arms forward, generating the sphere of shimmering, octagon-shaped plates around him. Sparks flew in every possible direction as they collided, and he could immediately feel the immense force behind the machine. Lanette shut her eyes, thinking that he would be flattened like a pancake. _"Lucas_!" she shrieked in horror... but that horror turned into utter awe when she saw him standing strong. There was a world of difference between a small, sleek sword and a giant block of steel, and both Lucas' shield and Lucas himself were feeling it. It began to crack under the pressure, and he could feel sweat and eventually blood starting to streak down his face. PK Counter's inability to stop all of the damage it absorbed was clearly showing now.

But like against PSIber-Silver's assault, he fought it off. Steven yelped in surprise as with a backlash that everyone could feel through the air, the massive claw bounced off of the octagonal plates and reeled back, the arm's bulk taking the rest of the Destructor with it and making it stumble backward. The legs struggled to correct for the abrupt shift in weight, but Lucas didn't let them finish. Taking as little time as necessary to regain his composure from stopping the attack, he launched one of his own, thrusting his arms forward again and creating the green hexagon he loved so much. The barrage began, aimed right for the legs. His idea was to immobilize the enemy so that it couldn't pursue them; even if it was easier to simply kill the pilot, he wanted to avoid any bloodshed that wasn't from his own body if at all possible.

Steven could do nothing but hold on tight inside the cockpit as the impacts shook the machine like a tornado trying to rip the shingles from a rooftop. Under normal circumstances the Destructor should be able to take the barrage, but with gravity also working against him in this case it was doomed to fall down, collapsing onto its knee-joints and using its single arm to prevent a "faceplant." If anyone outside could see his face, it would be one of raw disbelief. _"If that had hit the cockpit, that might've killed me!"_ he screamed in his head. _"What power! This boy is _definitely_ too dangerous to be left alive!"_

Steeling what resolve he had left, he controlled the Destructor and made it get back up on its own two feet. The leg joints had suffered considerable damage from the relentless assault, bits and pieces of metal missing and scorched where it was still intact. But it was still standing, and Lucas wasn't pleased about this. There was no time for him to prepare another attack however, he had to move this conflict away from the others. So he closed the distance, deciding to prepare a less time-consuming move. His finger sparked with green energy as he ran, and held it up to the sky when the cockpit was in plain view of it. Lanette was fortunate to remember what he was doing and covered her eyes as the green light of PK Flash blinded everyone present for a few seconds.

Everyone that is, except the intended target.

He had no time to react before the Destructor's massive fist swung in a horizontal arc and hit his body with considerable force. He screamed in pain as was sent flying a few feet through the air, rolling to a stop right back where he'd started the battle from. _"Lucas_!" Lanette cried out, at his side in an instant. The slam had been a painful one, appearing to have broken his left shoulder and tore off the whole sleeve that was on that arm. Several scrapes now marred the flesh, and a few had managed to get onto his left cheek.

"You're tactics are futile, Nowhere Boy! PK Flash won't make it through this tinted glass!" Steven informed him, certain he'd stay down after the brutal whack.

But yet, despite the obvious pain he must be in, he got back up as quickly as he could. "I'm okay... don't worry about me, Lanette!" he assured her, popping his shoulder back into place with another anguished cry and healing it. His confidence was fading as the Destructor stomped in his direction, the enraged pilot making it run faster than he figured it should be able to move. "You _idiot_! I'm trying to take this fight _away_ from the other people! Don't you care if they get hurt!"

The only reply he earned from Steven was a war cry as he opened the claw and thrust it forward like a battering ram. He had no choice but to play the role of the shield again, creating another PK Counter. There was a twist this time though; the claw _caught_ the barrier rather than punching it, giving it grip and thus much more force than before. With the weight of the machine's momentum behind it, he felt himself rapidly being forced back. "Oh no! Everyone, _get out of the way_!" he shouted to the unfortunate people in the way of the catastrophe.

They didn't need to be told twice, or even once; Lanette and the security agents moved as fast as their bodies physically could, jumping off of the road as the PK Counter tore up the asphalt it was push along. The vehicles in the way, both Lanette's motorcycle and the agent's cars, were tossed aside like baseballs.

And the one behind them who seemed to think they were a suitable barrier, Merelda, could only stand there in utter disbelief of the spectacle. Worse yet, the Destructor was still going.

Time seemed to slow down in this moment of utter terror.

"_Mom_!" Lanette shouted, she and the security agents only able to look on helplessly as what would surely be a fatal impact was headed for her. Lucas' and Steven's respective eyes widened as they realized that something terrible was about to take place. Merelda could only stand there, scared out of her right mind, the thought of her dying a painful death running through her mind repeatedly.

_"No_!"

Throwing his own safety to the wind, Lucas redirected the priority of the shield with one of his hands to the ground behind him in an effort to better stop this tragedy in the making. Both his body and his shield ached and threatened to break in clear protest, quite literally between a rock and a hard place. But it was working, they were getting slower...

Slower...

Slower...

...

_Stopped_.

The only noise came from the rumbling of the Destructor's engine and the whistling wind blowing through the barely _inch-wide_ gap between Merelda Cain and her crazed husband.

"G... get back... Miss...!"

The PK Counter was starting to spark sporadically.

"I-it's... gonna explode...!"

But she was still in a state of shock at what had just happened. It was too much for her frazzled mind to process immediately. Fortunately for her, Lanette had heard his words and tackled her mother away from him.

Not a moment too soon.

The PK Counter cracked fully and exploded in a shower of sparks, its last bit of redirected energy tearing through the metal claw of the Destructor like a knife through butter. Shrapnel was blown in every direction.

And when the light faded... a bloodied, battered Lucas was laying on the ground, most decidedly unconscious.

"L... Lucas...?" Lanette said lightly, unsure of what had just become of her friend as she helped her mother up off of the pavement. With that done, she ran to him immediately. "_Lucas_!" Then she saw the extent of the damage. His clothes were half gone, ripped apart by the explosion, and there was a wound of some degree to accompany every tear. There was no doubt about it: he was going to die if he didn't get help soon. "N... _no_! Damnit Lucas, _wake up_! You have to heal yourself!" But her shouting was in vain. He did not stir. "Lucas! _Lucas_!"

Her plight was not helped by the security agents. Seeing that their boss was unable to continue the fight, the surrounded them both, their guns drawn and pointed at him regardless of his condition.

Lanette crawled over him, blocking their line of fire with her body. "Don't you _dare_!" she roared, furious despite the tears lining her eyes. "You fire those guns and I swear I will rip you limb from limb!" The agents looked at each other with indecision. It wasn't so much her threat as in this position, they would shoot Steven's daughter too.

"Stop, all of you! Secure your weapons!"

The voice belonged to Steven Cain, still in the cockpit of his Destructor, slumped into the pilot's chair from exhaustion and horror at what he had nearly done. All eyes were on him. What he was about to say would contradict his entire purpose for living right now, but... he couldn't just turn his back on this.

"Get him a doctor, _now_!"

* * *

**A/N: **I think I'm getting better at writing battle scenes. Why? Because I was very hungry and very tired while I was writing that last part simply due to how much I enjoyed it. Time for food and sleep. x_x


	5. Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere, Verse 5

_Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere_

_Verse 5_

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All of their attempts to escape Cain Manor had ended in failure.

But the end result was drastically different than what anyone had envisioned. Lanette was especially surprised since no one here had bothered to give Lucas medical attention prior to this. It still turned her stomach that they would leave him in such a state before, like a broken doll. That he was getting help now was a change of heart that she never expected her father to have.

Thanks to this turmoil, the Cain family wasn't having a good night. Lanette was too worried about Lucas to get any worthwhile sleep in her own bed, so she simply waited outside of one of the operating rooms in the underground lab: it was the closest thing they had to an actual medical facility, and no one would dare take a known fugitive to a public hospital. Steven was a complete and utter emotional wreck, unable to stop crying and apologizing to Merelda for the terrible mistake he'd nearly made in his blind rage. All his wife could do was console him as best she could, telling him everything was alright now.

Or at least, that's what she _was _doing. Lanette was sitting by the door, leaning against the wall with her had staring at her lap. Only when she heard footsteps approaching her and then stop upon reaching her did she look up, seeing her mother there. "How is he?" she asked, her voice light.

She shook her head and replied, "No new news..."

Merelda frowned, taking a spot by the wall beside Lanette, but preferring to stand rather than sit on the floor. "I finally managed to get your father to sleep..." she told her. "We can only hope he's in a good enough mood to talk when he wakes up... we have a _lot_to clear up."

What an understatement. Lanette had told her mother about how Lucas was her friend and saviour, but her father wasn't privy to that; he knew only what the Government told him, along with his own prejudices. Prejudices that could very well be true for a great many of the Psychokinetics in the world, but she knew for sure that Lucas wasn't like them.

"Your friend isn't like any person I've ever met, Lanette." she said suddenly, earning an inquisitive stare from her daughter. "He didn't fight just for the sake of winning. He was trying just as hard to stop your father as he was to protect everyone else there, even _knowing _that they were his enemies...you just don't see that level of kindness anymore."

It was true, as odd as it sounded. Lucas only fought the enemy in front of him, not those behind him who weren't an immediate threat, and even went so far as to try and protect them, even _warn_ them. It seemed like he wasn't fighting in order to kill, but to _prevent _killing. Lanette let out a heavy sigh and asked Merelda, "Why do we live in a world where the good people just bite the dust while the stupid and power-hungry run everything?"

Her mother touched her forehead, letting out some combination of a giggle and a sob. Lanette's words would've been funny if it weren't so true. "Oh, I wish I knew..." she replied.

Time passed. Some of it was spent in silence, some of it was spent on the mother and daughter catching up. Merelda wanted to know what exactly Lanette had been up to when she'd ran away, and vica-versa, and they answered each other's questions honestly. It was much like two long-lost friends meeting up after a couple of years. Her mother hadn't exactly approved of some of the things her daughter had to do in order to survive, but she understood that it was simply the way of the world in some places. Her experiences had definitely helped her to grow stronger, but for Merelda it was enough just to see her safe and sound. She wished she could do more as a mother...

Then, as time flew by, the door to the operating room opened. Lanette was up off of the floor in an instant, looking at the exiting female doctor with expectation. Merelda mimicked the gesture. Then, she delivered the news.

"He's going to be just fine."

For the both of them, it was like a gargantuan weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

"You can go in and see him, but be careful; he's sleeping." she informed them.

Lanette bowed her head to the doctor. "Thank you so much!" she thanked her, and wasted no more time waltzing inside and checking up on her friend. He was sleeping she claimed, almost peacefully despite laying on a cold slab of metal and with nothing be a plain, blue sheet for a blanket that covered his lower body. She walked around the operating table where he lay, seeing with disdain the numerous wounds he had all over him. Bruises, cuts and scrapes, while all patched up, were virtually everywhere. It was very fortunate for the boy that he could heal himself when he awoke.

"Oh, you poor thing..." Merelda said as she also inspected the injuries he'd sustained. "How bad was he before he was brought in?" she asked the doctor.

"Very." she replied bluntly. "Bleeding from every cut he'd sustained. He's lucky not to have bled to death before getting here... and that's being generous."

That was a terrifying thought. "Oh, Lucas..." Lanette muttered with sorrow, brushing some hair away from his face.

"The machine that Mister Cain used on him was called a 'Destructor.' It's the latest in anti-Psychokinetic technology." she explained. "Its claw is specifically meant for taking advantage of the fault of Psychokinetic shields in that they don't stop all the damage they endure. It tries to crush them under their own pressure. It's nothing short of a miracle that he wasn't reduced to pulp."

"And the Government condoned the creation of such a horrible thing!" Merelda screeched. Evidently she didn't know about it.

"I shouldn't have to remind you that they'll do whatever it takes to wipe out the entire Psychokinetic population." the doctor stated. "_Whatever _it takes. I've heard cases of them tearing a whole town apart in search of a single one."

"That's..." Lanette couldn't believe this. "That's just fucked up..." She earned a stern glare from her mother for using that cuss, but she didn't say anything in complaint.

"You don't have to worry about this one, though." the doctor reassured them both. "For someone so young, he's remarkably strong. He should be awake by morning, at which point I assume he can handle things from there."

Merelda grabbed the woman's shoulders. "Thank you... I understand that it's illegal to help this boy, but thank you..."

"No thanks needed, Mistress." the doctor told her, lightly brushing her hands away. "Human or Psychokinetic, I'm just glad to save another life." She moved to the exit. "You're free to stay with him if you want, just make sure not to touch anything you shouldn't."

With that, she left the three, and their eyes fell back onto the sleeping boy. As ravaged as his body was, Lanette couldn't help but notice that he was a little leaner than an average child his age. Not a six-pack and chiseled abs by any means, but he was nowhere close to a pile of twigs either and had no visible baby fat. _"Kids don't get a bod like that living a normal life, and the slums aren't exactly a home gym... just what has he gone through?"_she wondered privately.

"Well... I'll have to find him some new clothes." Merelda said, snapping Lanette out of her musings as she stared at the waste bin. Inside of it were Lucas' previous clothes, ripped and torn into a pile of rags that was only recognizable by the shirt's red and yellow colour scheme. "Do you think he'd mind the same ones?"

"Eh... I don't think so. He seems to like red and yellow stripes anyway." Lanette answered thoughtfully, remembering that he'd also worn those same stripes when she met him. As cheesy as she thought they were, she thought they looked good on him. "Umm... is it alright if I... stay with him for now?"

Merelda nodded and smiled. "Of course, Lanette. Just don't hesitate to ask if you need anything..."

"Okay." She acknowledged, watching her mother exit and shut the door behind her, leaving her to her own devices. Her gaze was cast back downward to Lucas' face... where she noticed something peculiar. His brow was twitching constantly. _"Dreaming?"_she thought, unable to help wondering what he could be dreaming about. His eyelids were twitching sporadically... whatever it was, it had to be intense. He was such a mystery, but such a good friend. She didn't regret springing him from that Resistance camp one bit.

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"So infiltrating his cozy operation was a good idea after all." Vice President Edel couldn't help but feel a little smug.

"So it would seem." spoke the voice of Agent Daniels over the active speakerphone in his office. It was definitely ironic that the man he'd met a day or two ago for a simple message delivery was the organizer of this little espionage mission, but he chose not to complain, especially since he was good at what he did.

"I have to admit Mister Daniels, you did splendidly, accomplishing this on such short notice." he congratulated him. "If only our soldiers were as competent."

He scoffed over the phone. "Then I'd be out of a job." Edel almost roared with laughter, only managing to keep his voice down by remembering that the agent was still in unfriendly territory. The man had a sense of humour too. "So what am I to do now?"

He finally managed to calm himself down before responding, thinking carefully. "Hmm... I don't think this will affect the original plan at all..." He grinned, a devious idea hitting him. "In fact, this could work in our favour. We might be able to kill two birds with one stone. Yes... continue the operation as planned."

"Understood."

Then the speaker went entirely silent, the red light on it turning off. Edel slouched in his chair, grinning broadly at his victory. _"Shame on you Steven, trying to hide Nowhere Boy right under our noses... you're crazy if you think money will get you out of this one."_he thought maliciously, his excitement growing at the promise of the coming chaos in the near future.

And yet... something still irked him.

_"But what about the boy? Will he go down so easily?"_he wondered, his demonic smile fading into a stern frown. He wasn't entirely sure what the President and those beneath him thought of their newest threat, but the Vice President was still bothered by the fact that the old man had essentially given up his life for this one child. It didn't help that the now-deceased Resistance leader didn't have the book, which he could only assume was now in the boy's possession; even if the Resistance did have Formless PSI at their disposal, clearly he'd never trust his own power-hungry faction with it. The old man had great faith in this "Nowhere Boy" for sure...

Edel didn't understand it. At first he was excited that their game was continuing even after his death. Why was he so nervous now? Why did the mere thought of one little Psychokinetic give him the sense of such danger? He understood why the rest of the Government saw him as a threat, but was he really so dangerous? It was a well-known fact that a Psychokinetic capable of Formless PSI like him in the past – even younger than him even – defeated a threat to the entire Earth... but that was back then, when they weren't the world's enemy. Things had changed drastically since that time...

He shook his head and dismissed his worries, making himself comfortable in his chair again. There were huge differences between the Government and the alien invader from decades past, and they all set the odds clearly in the world's favour. Nowhere Boy would fall and be forgotten just like the old man, of this he was sure. He just needed to be patient...

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Lucas' eyes fluttered open, waking up to the feeling of a dull pain coursing through his whole body for the... third time in a row if his groggy brain recalled correctly.

But at least this time it was only groggy rather than aching or dizzily spinning, meaning he could do something about that pain for once. He didn't waste any time with that, his various methods of healing PSI working their miracles like they did on his arm earlier. He didn't see the wounds he'd suffered from having his PK Counter break, but he knew he had many, and one by one each injury healed itself.

With a light groan he sat up on... something he was certain wasn't a bed. Mattresses weren't made of cold metal. He shot upright knowing something was amiss, looking around a room that looked like it could only be for medical purposes. Well, he couldn't heal himself while he was sleeping after all... but where was the doctor he had to thank for looking after him? Looking around the room, the only other person he saw in here was... Lanette, who was leaning on the operating table where the blue sheet covered him, her head cradled in her own arms. She was asleep. Lucas doubted she had looked after his wounds, not having displayed any first-aid skills yet, but it seemed she had fallen asleep watching over him. He smiled; to let herself fall asleep like that must mean that they were out of danger... for now, at least. He'd ask her what happened when she woke up.

His eyes drifted to Lanette's left, where a small, metal trolley was set by his impromptu bed. On top of it were his shoes and a neatly-folded pile of clothes... the same style he was wearing before. He hadn't failed to notice the waste bin filled with similarly-coloured rags, so he assumed these were new. Careful not to disturb his friend, he slipped himself out of the sheet – even if she was asleep, he was glad to be in his boxers still – and went about dressing himself. He was both surprised and relieved to feel the weight and shape of the Black Diary and the Sound Stone in his back pocket... whoever had delivered the clothes apparently had the foresight to transfer his possessions to them.

Eventually though, an unintentional, abrupt pull on the sheet as he slid his new jeans on had literally pulled Lanette out of her slumber when her arms were dragged out from underneath her head. Her eyes flitted open, and when she saw him sitting up... well, she would've been shocked if she wasn't half-asleep right now. She looked up at Lucas just in time to see him putting his hoodie on, and let out a yawn that got his attention. "Shit... I haven't slept good in days..." she grumbled, gripping the side of the table and pushing herself upright.

Lucas groaned in reply. "I understand your pain..." he sympathized. He'd been sleeping in an alley for the better part of two weeks, for God's sake. He wished he could find a nice, warm bed in a place that wasn't unfriendly territory soon. "What happened after I passed out?" he wasted no time asking Lanette.

She tried to shake the grogginess out of her head before telling him, "We're back at Cain Manor... I think Dad had a change of heart or something after you saved Mom..."

"Mom?" Lucas repeated, wondering when he'd even meet Lanette's mother... the face of that woman he'd prevented Steven Cain's Destructor from barreling into entered his mind then. That must've been her. "Oh... I see..." Then suddenly, he got the wind knocked out of him as Lanette tackled and hugged him so fast that he nearly fell off of the table. "Wh-wha!" he stammered, his cheeks flushing.

"Damn you... you crazy kid..." Lanette said in a half-scolding, half-joking voice. "Do you know how scary it was to watch you fight that massive robot on your own! I don't know whether to hug you for saving my Mom, or _strangle _you for being so crazy!"

Since he was already ensnared in her arms and could feel how strong they were in spite of how slender they looked, he silently hoped she'd settle for the former. Still, she was pretty hypocritical to call _him _crazy, and he had no problem pointing it out. "Well, with how much you terrified me with that first motorcycle ride, I'd say that makes us even."

Her grip tightened, but not by a whole lot, only to hold onto him when he made her laugh. "Okay, point taken." she admitted, letting him go. "Now let's go upstairs, I'm starving and need some real food, damnit."

The mere mention of a real, home-cooked meal almost made Lucas salivate right there. Some actual food sounded _really _good now...

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"Must be good to be filthy stinking rich, isn't it?"

Steven was nearly at the end of his rope. This was the third straight morning he'd had to look at the lanky Vice President's smug face on his office's flatscreen, and his constant drilling was wearing on him. "I beg your pardon?" he replied with a dull expression, making no effort to hide that he was getting sick of these unannounced teleconferences.

There was that nauseatingly wide grin again. He was surprised the arguably immature man even brushed his teeth. "I've been getting reports of a huge robot... _thing _coming out from underneath your house. Have you been holding out on me, Stevie old pal?"

"I told you not to call me that!" Steven snapped, smashing his hand onto his desk. "And it was the prototype Destructor you asked me to design and build. Some Psychokinetic twat decided to try and kill me yesterday, so I used it as an opportunity to test it."

"Ooh... that sounds like it would've been fun to watch." Edel cooed. "Well, you're still in one piece, so I can only assume the test was a success."

"Well, more or less." Steven admitted. "The shield-crushing claw has a fatal bug to work out; it works good against PK Shield, but _not _PK Counter. While it still got the job done, there was a lot of shrapnel to clean up."

"Hmm... not very practical if it only lasts for one use." Edel said with his hand to his chin. "If you were to use that thing on someone as powerful as _Nowhere Boy _is rumoured to be, you'd might have to make it out of a stronger material..."

He flinched a little at the emphasis that Edel had put on Nowhere Boy. "What would make you think I was designing this for use on Nowhere Boy specifically?" he asked, growing increasingly nervous.

"Oh, just for insurance, really." Edel told him. The sinister smile he wore gave Steven the chills. "I mean, if the kid has the power to toss a PSIber to the curb, then it makes no sense to send a _weaker_ weapon after him, _does it now_...?"

He was starting to sweat. "No, I suppose not."

The Vice President took on a normal facial expression again... or at least, as normal as a man like him could manage. "On that note... I'm afraid we haven't had much luck finding Nowhere Boy ourselves." he told him. "We've searched up and down Eastville with no sign of him other than an abandoned Resistance Camp."

Then he saw an opportunity to get on Edel's case for a change. "Really now, Edel? Sounds like the intelligence agency is slipping..."

Edel laughed. "More like they're a bunch of lazy idiots! I swear, the only time they get something done is when I'm watching them!" he half-joked, though it sounded more like a complaint. Then, his ghastly smile returned. "No surprise that we have no idea where he is then... why for all we know, he could be hiding _right under our nose_..."

With the return of that condescending tone came the return of Steven's panic. "Well then, tell your agents to stop loafing and get something _done_!" he retorted angrily. "I've done all I can do for you without information regarding Nowhere Boy's strain of PSI, so until you can provide me with that, I ask you to let me continue my work. _Good day_."

With no further warning, he cut the feed, then slumped back into his chair... he shouldn't have lost his temper like that. Not to _him _of all people. This was the second time the Vice President had been implying that Steven had Nowhere Boy here... but how could he know that? He had no men here, and there was no history of an intrusion... then why did he have this rotten feeling?

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The atmosphere of the Cain Manor both and above ground was something Lucas was having a very hard time taking in, his mind simply refusing to go into a state of acceptable calm. There were just too many reminders of what he'd had to deal with in the past here. The underground lab he was made to follow Lanette through was a grim reminder of a certain other laboratory he'd had the displeasure of infiltrating, and nearly being eaten alive in. The lavish main building reminded him of that huge tower he'd had to fight his way up. There were just too many bad memories, so despite the promise that all was well, he was constantly wary and on edge.

As she finally led him into the dining hall, they were spotted by Merelda Cain, who appeared to be in the middle of making breakfast in a side-room with a hole in the wall, somewhat like a restaurant. "Oh! You're both awake! I was just going to take your breakfast down to you." she said in pleasant surprise.

Her warm greeting only eased Lucas' mind slightly, but at least it was something. The aroma of freshly-cooked food didn't hurt either. "I guess we just couldn't wait. First home-cooked meal we've had in a while after all." Lanette reminded her, taking the closest seat at the absurdly-long dinner table. He pulled up a chair beside her, finally looking around the room and seeing just how big it really was. And it _was _big, four elegant chandeliers dangling from the ceiling numerous wall-attached candles lining the sides of the room, along with all manner of valuable-looking objects he couldn't aptly describe if he tried. He swore he could almost fit at least three of his own house in here... though that could just be because where he used to live was small, back then...

He shook his head, rejecting the memories. _"Not in the company of others."_he told himself, before Merelda brought two plates of...

He couldn't believe his luck. She had made omelets. "You're not a vegetarian, are you? I can make you something else if you like." she asked him.

He quickly shook his head, giddy with excitement. "Are you kidding? Omelettes are my favourite!" he informed her with a wide grin. "Thank you!"

Merelda shook her head, kneeling down beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "With all due respect, _I'm_ the one who should be thanking _you_. You saved my life, took care of my daughter and even brought my stubborn husband to his senses." she told him with sincerity. "Making you breakfast is the least I can do to repay you."

He was at a loss for words, only able to blush in response to the kindness of someone who, by all right and reason, should be his enemy. Then his stomach growled in reminder that there was food in front of him, and he grinned sheepishly. Merelda giggled in reply and left him to his food, which he wasted no more time devouring. The taste of the omelet brought back so many memories... he just wished that more of them were _good _memories...

"Speaking of Dad... how's he doing now?" Lanette asked her mother, giving him a new subject to think about. Steven's Destructor had sustained a fair bit of damage in their fight, so he was concerned about how the pilot fared.

"Really well, all things considered. He was up bright and early like usual." she replied, walking around the short end of the table and back towards the cooking area. "I just wish he didn't have to get up and do his latest work assignment right away... that Vice President is a slave driver, I tell you!"

Her daughter grimaced at the implications of that. "Oi... I guess one good Psychokinetic isn't gonna change his tune, is it?" she murmured with disdain, digging into her omelet as well.

Merelda brought an omelette of her own to the table, sitting across from Lanette. "Even if it did, I don't think he'd have a choice in the matter. He's in too deep as it is." she reminded her.

The term "Vice President" was one Lucas had heard uncommonly during his time in the Eastville Slums... it embarrassed him to not know what it meant, especially in a society that seemed to be based around it. Nonetheless, he felt he should know, so he asked, "Umm... pardon me for being ignorant, but what is a 'Vice President?'"

Lanette and her mother looked gave him odd stares, the latter's inquisitive, and the former's wide-eyed as if he'd just grown a second head. "You seriously don't know?" the daughter almost laughed out, greatly amused. He could only shake his head to the negative. "_Man_, kid... you really weren't kidding when you said you weren't from around here." His embarrassed blush only intensified. "See, it's like this: in this whole, massive Government that controls the world, there are two people who pull the strings. The President who sits at the very top, and the Vice President who's his second in command. It's pretty much their job to make laws and 'govern' the land and stuff."

He listened carefully to her words, and only now did the term start to make sense. He felt like a total idiot for not realizing it before; he'd seen such a leadership setting before. "Ohhh... I get it now." he replied, visibly enlightened.

"It's a shame that the Vice President is rotten to the core, though." Merelda chipped in after swallowing some food. "Not that anyone working with him cares as long as they realize their goal..."

Lanette scoffed and replied, "All _that_ means is that they're as messed up as _he _is... all power-hungry sadists."

Lucas cringed at those words. "I already don't like him..." he admitted. "What about the President though?"

Merelda sighed. "That's the sad thing. Despite having been the one to set the war against the Psychic War in motion, President Schroder is actually an upstanding man." she told him. "It's like every soldier in the army kills for the sake of killing, but the President only does this because he firmly believes it's the only way to achieve peace again..."

The simple notion of that almost made Lucas choke on his omelet. "On what twisted planet could _peace _come from killing so many!" he retorted.

"_This _planet, apparently." Lanette said in a half-serious, half-joking manner.

Merelda glared at her daughter for that statement, but thought nothing else of it. "It's a different mindset for the one sitting at the throne of the whole world. He really didn't want to go to these extremes, but he knew something had to be done. He even went so far as to leave the war up to public vote." Lucas' eyes widened to the point where one might think they would fall out of his skull. "To this day, it _still _amazes me that the majority voted 'Yes...'"

Lucas was rapidly losing his appetite. Fortunate that he'd already cleared his plate then. "That's... that's unbelievable..." he murmured. "What on Earth would drive all those people to mark so many for death?"

"Well... that's just the thing. The cause _wasn't _from Earth." Lanette told him. "It was an alien invasion."

Aliens? He remembered some of the briefly-skimmed words of the Black Diary. "Oh, right... _them_." he muttered.

"Well... maybe 'invasion' isn't the right word. More like 'visit.'" she corrected herself. "No one ever saw them, but the whole world heard them. They claimed that the power of PSI that some humans have was stolen from them... and then they went and put this fucking _huge_ 'Planet Container' around the whole Earth so we wouldn't 'destroy other worlds with our stolen power...'" she explained. "Or something like that. It happened years ago, so I'm a little sketchy on the exact details."

"No, that's actually very accurate, my dear." Merelda told her. "I'll never forget that day, the sight of that huge... _thing _closing around the sky... and then being left in cold darkness for a good few hours... it still gives me nightmares from time to time." She shivered, as if to emphasize what she'd said. "All the satellites we had in outer space got pushed back to the Earth like meteorites, all the space programs got cancelled... it threw the whole planet for a loop..." Lucas could only begin to understand just how chaotic that day must've been. "Things haven't been the same since then. Most people lost their ways of living, and because of that... the Psychokinetics whom the aliens accused were blamed..."

"...And then the war started." Lucas finished for her, beginning to understand. He'd read about the Planet Container in his skimming of the Black Diary, but had been paying more attention to information about the "great power" at the time and didn't read into it too deeply. He made a mental note to definitely read that diary more carefully in the future.

"Exactly." she replied. "Some people hunt the Psychokinetics believing that their being here is a curse upon humanity, some fight in the hopes that the aliens will come back and take the Planet Container away, and some... I think some kill just because they have a convenient excuse, seeing how some of them act."

He slumped into his chair from the sheer despair he was starting to feel. An entire world being plunged into war like this... "Why...?" he muttered. "What... what kind of world _is_ this...!" What was the meaning of this? His wish... it hadn't been for a world like _this_...!

His frazzled mind hardly paid any attention to the door to the dining hall opening, but that changed when the new voice of one of Steven's bald-headed security agents addressed them. "Excuse me, but Steven wants to see you." he told them. "_All _of you. He says it's urgent."

The three of them exchanged curious and worried glances.

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Steven paced around the common room, frantically thinking of what he would say. The boy he wanted to see... who he had just tried to kill not even twenty-four hours ago. What was he going to say to him? What did the child think of him? How would he possibly explain this situation to Merelda, or Lanette even? _"Calm down, Steven. It's not like you to freak out like this."_ he ordered himself. They would be made to listen. They _had _to.

The door opened, and all three of the one he wanted to desperately speak with, plus the security agent he'd sent to fetch them, walked single file into the large room. Lucas could only look at the face of his attempted killer, recognizing him in an instant... but to his confusion, he felt no animosity towards him. In fact he seemed... apologetic, offset by his growing anxiety. Something was definitely up.

"Thanks for bringing them." Steven addressed his agent. "You can return to your duties now."

The bald-headed man's head tilted ever so slightly. "Sir?" he said with confusion.

He glared at his subordinate... he figured this would happen. "Did I stutter? I said you can leave."

The agent tried his best to remain stone-faced in his reply, though his hazel eyes did a poor job at concealing his indecision. "Pardon me Sir, but I can't in good conscience leave you alone with him-"

"You can and you will, because I'm _asking you to_." Steven interrupted bluntly. "Go!"

Despite this, he was still hesitant... his odd behaviour earned Lucas' interest. There was something... not right about this man. He seemed to have some of the anger towards him that Steven was lacking, but... the concern he claimed to have for his boss... wasn't there. In fact, he almost thought he was _angry _at him. This was very strange... but eventually, the man bowed and said, "I'm sorry Sir, I'll do as you ask." With that, he left the room, but neither Steven nor Lucas took their eyes off of him until he exited the room and closed the door behind him.

They were none the wiser when the man swiftly, almost unnoticeably, pulled a small, black object out of his black jacket and stuck it to the door. Only then did he really leave.

Meanwhile, back inside the room, Steven was pulling down the window blinds. "Honey?" Merelda said to him. "What is this about?"

The candles attached to the walls seemed to light up of their own accord, as if sensing that light had left the room. "Please, have a seat everyone." he said to them, quieter than normal. "And try to keep your voices down. They could be listening for all I know."

"They?" Merelda repeated, not sure what her husband was talking about in the slightest. Nonetheless, she took a spot on the rocking chair in the room, while Steven tensely occupied a lazy chair. "Honey, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

Lucas and Lanette looked at each other, equally confused and equally worried, as they each took an empty spot on the couch. "I think the Government knows that Nowhere Boy is here."

Now Steven wasn't the only one in the room feeling the tension in the air. "_What_!" Merelda almost screamed, barely remembering in time that she was told to keep her voice down, and Steven reminded her afterward by making a downward pushing motion with his hand and a grimace on his face. "How is that possible? They've never even been here since we found him!"

"Bloody hell Dad, you didn't _tell_them, did you!" Lanette accused, looking very cross. Lucas wondered if this is why he felt those apologetic emotions from Steven... had he really ratted him out?

"Of _course _not!" he replied, barely managing to follow his own advice at being singled out for blame. "I never told them anything. They aren't even supposed to know... but..." he paused. "For the past couple of days, I've been receiving calls from the Vice President." It was as if the whole room, rather than just its occupants, shuddered at the mention of that person. "He's saying a lot of weird things that sound like accusations that I have him here... and just this morning, his drilling made me lose my temper on him."

"Oh dear..." Merelda sighed, holding her hand over her face. She understood just how dire the situation was now.

"I think we can expect a visit from him or his goons really soon..." Steven said in conclusion, only reinforcing her fears. He turned his head to face Lucas and Lanette. "I hate to do this, but... you two can't stay here."

Now Lucas was _very_confused, while Steven's daughter nearly jumped out of her seat in rage. "What? What do you mean!" she asked furiously.

Steven sighed; he also expected her to react like that. "The Government has video footage from PSIber-Silver's perspective..." he explained. "And _both _of your faces are on it."

Both Lucas and Lanette's eyes widened with horror. "Oh... _shit_..." she cursed. This was _not _good.

"I'm not sure whether or not the Government made the connection between us yet, but I know they will eventually." he told them. "They might use you to get to me, or the other way around. You're not safe here, Lanette. You neither, Nowhere Boy."

Reluctantly, Lanette had begun to understand that, muttering "Damn..." under her breath. For Lucas it was quite strange that this person who had tried to kill him not long ago was now warning him of danger to come.

"What, so you're planning to just throw them out onto the street again?" Merelda said, making no attempt to hide her disapproval of the thought in her accusing tone of voice. "Running away from us is one thing, but purposely _throwing out our own daughter _is quite another!"

"We don't have a choice, Merelda..." Steven said with exasperation. "If we're found together, we'll _all _take the fall... I want to know that she's safe." He looked to Lucas. "Nowhere Boy... I know I have no right to after trying to kill you, but... I want to ask a favour of you."

His confusion was only growing. "What is it?" he asked.

It eased his mind to know that he was willing to listen. "I want you to keep my daughter safe from this mess of a war." he said.

Steven looked down to the floor, guilt washing over his being.

"For the longest time... I always thought that she ran away from us because she was brainwashed by those Psychokinetics..." he confessed. "But now I see that I was wrong. She ran away because she was afraid of the destruction I was causing... I've been a terrible father to my child..."

Lucas' suspicions of a trap died away when he saw Steven on the verge of undeniably sincere tears. "Steven..." Merelda said, surprised and sympathetic towards her husband.

He only looked even more desperate when he got up from his chair, only to fall down to his knees in front of Lucas and bow, the tears now streaming down his face. No one in the room could believe what they were seeing, "I can't even protect my own flesh and blood in this war-torn world that I helped to create... all I've been able to do is destroy..." he sobbed. "Nowhere Boy... you're the only person I know who is willing to protect others for the sake of protecting them, and has the power to do it... so please, I beg you..." He looked up at him, his face red from the display of emotion he was being made to put out. "I don't care if you kill me now for all that I've done, but please, _please _protect my daughter...! Take her somewhere far away from all of this bloodshed...!"

For a good while, Lucas could only stare at Steven. It really was poetic justice at its finest: once a stubborn fool attempting to grind him into dust one moment, then pleading desperately for his aid the next. But what he asked him to do... it was a noble enough cause to warrant his attention. He was convinced now that the creator of the PSIbers no longer saw the boy as an enemy... but he wasn't entirely sure if he saw him as an ally either.

In either case, he was being forward and honest. So he decided to show him the same respect. "Lanette's Dad, don't take this the wrong way, but... I'm not sure if I can do that..."

Steven could only stare at him as his body recoiled slightly in horror.

"I'm _already_ involved in this war, whether I like it or not..." he explained to him, looking at him sadly. "I want to _end_ it." Steven and her wife looked at the boy as if he was completely out of his mind. "And that could mean going up against both the Government _and _the Resistance... if that happens, then there's no way I can guarantee her safety..."

It was an understandable reason, he believed, but he was no less shocked at what he had just heard. "End... the war?" he repeated, starting to regain his composure and pick himself off the floor, wiping the tears off of his face. "Do you even understand what you're saying, boy? The danger you'll be facing?"

"Yes, I do."

And then all that composure was lost at his immediate, stoic reply.

"_Ahem_!" The heartfelt conversation was broken up by Lanette clearing her throat, now standing out of her chair with her hands on her hips and an unforgiving look on her face. "Can you _not _decide my fate without me having a say in it, thank you very much?"

Steven backed off again, while Lucas merely apologized to her. "S-sorry..." he said to her.

She looked to him, that anger fading into a sad frown. "Lucas... didn't I tell you from the start that I'd help you out in this crazy journey? Do you think I'm so useless?"

"W-what! _No_!" he replied, waving his arms frantically in denial. "That's not it at all! If it weren't for you, I never would've gotten out of that Resistance Camp!" He eventually managed to calm himself down, remembering the conversation they'd had back at that same Resistance Camp. It was true, she _had _decided to go along with him in spite of his protests. God only knows where he might've wound up if she hadn't done just that.

"Lanette... is this true?" Steven asked, not fully understanding the turn the conversation had taken.

Also managing to work herself down, she replied to him, "Yes... the Resistance was going to use him as a weapon. Not a leader or anything like the old man, but a common soldier." Steven was as shocked to learn this as Merelda was. "He saved my life, and he seems like such a good kid... I couldn't just let that happen to him." she explained. "And I can't stand this war either... I want to do something, _anything_ to help put an end to it. And going with Lucas... I have the chance to do that." She directed a stern glare to her father. "And _no_, he's _not_ brainwashing me, just in case you're starting to think that bullshit again. I _want _to go with him."

All he could do was look at her daughter as she ranted, in a state of utter awe. He knew she was rebellious. He knew she had every right to hate him. But still... he was fully expecting just a long-winded excuse for her to get away from him again, not a declaration that she wanted to go on what could very well be a fool's errand with this child simply because she felt she had to. "Lanette..." was all he could say in reply.

"Lanette... you've grown up." Interjected Merelda, who was now also standing up, placing her hand on her husband's shoulder. "Steven, honey... if she feels that strongly about this, I don't think we can stop her. And you said it yourself, she isn't safe here." She turned to Lucas. "Even if he really intends to go through with this... even in the midst of the war, I think the safest place our daughter can be now is by this boy's side."

Steven listened to his wife intently, and was inclined to agree. "You... may be right, Merelda..." he admitted. He turned back to Lucas as well. "Then, Nowhere Boy... no, Lucas was it? Then at least promise me you'll do whatever you can to protect her..."

He nodded and curtly replied, "Of course, Mister Steven."

He still found it strange, asking a Psychokinetic for help... until now he'd been convinced that they were nothing but demons, defective human beings that obtained a power no human being should have. But this boy was sincere... he was more than a simple Psychokinetic for sure. For some reason, Steven couldn't help but trust this boy. "Well then... if you two are actually crazy enough to go through with this venture, then I'd be an utter failure as a father if I didn't do whatever I can to help you both." he declared. He went back to his seat, feeling in a much better mood now, and the rest of those in the room followed suit. Gone was the tense atmosphere, replaced simply by seriousness. "So tell me... just how do you intend to stop this war?"

Lucas was unsure whether or not to tell him the exact details... he glanced over to Lanette. "When Dad says he's going to do something, he does it. We can trust him now, Lucas." she assured him.

Feeling a little better about relenting the information now, he went and did just that. "Well... I was going to start with finding the Eight Sanctuaries."

"The Sanctuaries..." Steven muttered under his own breath, visibly surprised. "How do you know about them?"

"The old man told him." Lanette answered for him. "Well... kind of. He gave Lucas some kind of diary. Had all the Sanctuary locations in it."

"...I see." he replied to her, thinking deeply. "May I see this book? You don't have to hand it to me, I just want to look..." Lucas supposed there was no issue with simply looking, and pulled the book out of his back pocket to show to Steven. "I thought so." he said with some kind of finality. "The Government has been after that book since the war started. You couldn't imagine the uproar when they learned it was in the hands of a Resistance Leader."

"...That might explain why he kept such a close eye on it..." Lucas said to himself, recalling the conversation between himself and Timothy in the company of the orphans.

"History says that when humanity fought off the alien invasion for the first time, the hero of the war used the power of the Sanctuaries, something only people with Formless PSI can do. So they didn't want any information about the Sanctuaries getting out, not one bit of it. They don't want someone worse than Old Man deal with." Steven explained. "They've even gone so far as to undergo terraforming projects and the like to physically _move _the Sanctuaries."

"_Move_ the Sanctuaries!" Lucas repeated. From what he'd read, the Eight Sanctuaries were areas built into the very Earth itself, or at least most of them. The thought of _moving _them hadn't occurred to him at all. "Is that actually possible?"

"Unfortunately, yes." he confirmed for him. "There's only two left here in Neo Eagleland now, one moved into their main headquarters here in Neo Fourside, the other simply too difficult to 'collect.' The rest have been moved all over the world, as far apart as possible."

It was a lot of depressing information for Lucas and Lanette to take in. "...Wow. That's... desperate. Smart, but desperate."

"Indeed. That's how much they want the power to themselves." Steven said. "And you can bet that with a new Formless PSI user surfacing, security will get a lot tighter." He turned to Lucas. "You're going to have a _lot_ to go up against, _especially _since you rebelled from the Resistance. Are you two still sure you want to go through with this?"

"...I have to." Lucas replied after a moment of pause. "If what everyone's saying is true, and I'm the last person alive able to use Formless PSI... then no one else can."

"And he can't possibly do it alone." Lanette chipped in.

"...So you're that determined." Steven realized. "Then I won't waste any more of your time than necessary. Just... let me get a few things for you, and wait for me in the garage."

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The garage of the Cain Manor was quite a bit more... expansive than Lucas had expected. He knew what the word meant: an enclosed space used to store means of transportation. But when he walked into it, he could not help but be amazed at not only its size, but the sheer amount of automobiles stored within it. They were neatly arranged in lines along parallel walls, facing in a diagonal direction pointed loosely towards the closed shutter that lead to the outside world.

"Whoa..." Lanette breathed out, similarly awestruck as they walked around the massive room. "He's... added quite a few cars to his collection while I was away..." At the sight of so many rare vehicles, classic, state-of-the-art and everything in between, the gear-head in her was drooling and starry eyed with excitement.

Lucas, unfortunately, didn't have such an obsession with technology as she. The sight of it still made him cringe at times... innovations of this level had been part of what destroyed his life. Instead, he kept his mind focused on the goal at hand, and spotted something familiar amongst the private car show. "Lanette, there's your motorcycle!" he exclaimed.

That had been enough to snap her out of her stupor, and her head jerked in the direction he was pointing. There it was indeed, its silver body and red chassis plainly visible at the very end of the garage where the shutter was, sitting idly by a plain white limousine. She squealed and ran over to her ride without hesitation, and Lucas chuckled as he walked after her, seeing no immediate rush. She inspected it with scrutinizing eyes, checking for some kind of imperfection, but the only notable difference either person could see on it was a black rider's helmet hanging off of either bike handle. "Whew... looks like they fixed it up after it got tossed like a rag doll by that Destructor thing." she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "If he'd damaged it, I swear to God..."

"You care a lot for that machine..." Lucas noted, finding it a little strange that she would feel so strongly about what was, at the end of the day, just another way of getting around.

Lanette looked at him with a small smile. "Well, I've had this bike since I ran away from here... I guess I've grown a little attached to it." She looked down to the rider's area of the bike to see not only the keys readily in the ignition, but a couple more of her possessions laying on the leather seat. "Oh, it's my switchblades! I was wondering where they went." she chuckled, returning her weapons of choice to the sides of her shorts.

Lucas couldn't understand her attachment no matter how hard he tried. He knew what it was like to grow close to a living thing, but something inanimate? Something _not _living? The whole idea was foreign to him. Still, he didn't want to upset her with his own musings, so he simply smiled back at her and said nothing else.

The next few minutes were spent in silence with Lanette having since calmed down, pacing around the stone floor of the garage while Lucas sat cross-legged on it. It had only taken those few minutes, however, for Steven and Merelda to join them in the garage, the former hefting over his back a large, black bag over his back and a folded piece of what paper in his left hand. Well, he'd been truthful when he said he wouldn't waste any more time than necessary.

"Alright then." he said, addressing the two teenagers. "First of all, take this." He handed the piece of paper to Lucas, who opened it up and read it. It was a neatly-arranged list of what seemed to be locations... at least that's what he assumed when one of those listed was "Neo Fourside, Neo Eagleland." "It's a list of all the Sanctuaries and where they are now." he explained. Lucas squeaked in understanding and nodded in thanks. "And these..." His head twisted backward to look at the black bag. "These are new weapons that the Government is having me produce, meant for commercial soldiers to take down Psychokinetics."

"Ohh... so those are meant for beating down PSIbers?" Lanette asked.

"Not just the PSIbers." Steven clarified. "As ludicrous as it sounds, the Government has other Psychokinetics under their employ, not just normal human beings and robots. Plus, you could also run into trouble from the Resistance." he explained, taking the liberty of setting the bag into the motorcycle's metal basket. Lanette supposed her father might be right about what they would be facing. "You especially, Lucas, should wear the headgear in there. It'll protect you from PSI-suppressor technology like what we used to keep you unconscious here. It clips behind your ears like headphones."

Lucas... didn't remember any such technology, but did know it was probably used on him. He inspected the inside of the bag, seeing the aforementioned headgear on the top and taking it out. It looked like a pair of white, futuristic headphones that go around the back of the head, only without the speakers. He took a moment to figure out how to put it on, and it fit him snugly. "Thank you, Mister Steven." he thanked him.

"I also took the liberty of filling the rest of the bag with food." Merelda said. "You won't get far living off of fast food."

Her daughter's face lit up. "Oh, thank you so much!" she cheered. Lucas silently agreed that this was a good thing; Merelda was a good cook, and this certainly beat acquiring food with other... less desirable means.

Merelda bowed in recognition. "And lastly..." Steven continued, pulling out some sort of card from his front shirt pocket, sleek and red. It looked like a credit card. "Lanette, I've had a small fortune moved into a bank account separate from this household's." he explained, handing the card to his now-ecstatic daughter. "You won't have to worry about anyone tracing your transactions like we did to find you, but be careful with how you spend it. I won't be able to give you any more."

She nodded and replied, "I understand." She slipped the card into her own back pocket.

Wordlessly, Steven walked over to the left side of the garage shutter and pressed a button on the control panel near it. With the buzzing of motors, it began to rise, and Lanette took this as her cue to mount her motorcycle. Lucas followed suit as she plucked the helmets from the handlebars, handing him one. He put it on, realizing that head protection was definitely important after what had happened to Lanette when they crashed a couple of days ago. He certainly couldn't heal wounds if he was knocked out because of such an injury.

"Lanette... I'm afraid that this is all I can do for you now." Steven apologized, his voice muffled only slightly by the helmets as he walked up to them with his hands behind his back. "The rest will be up to you and Lucas. I can't help anymore without the Government getting on my case more than it already has."

She shook her head and said, "Don't worry about it, Dad." She was smiling behind her lowered visor. "You've already done more than enough, and we're resourceful. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

For the first time in years that either his daughter or his wife could remember, his mouth and mustache curved up into a smile. "Yes... I know you will. My little girl has grown up to be a strong young woman." he complimented her. "Now, _go_! Put an end to this damned war! There's no time for you to lose!"

With a final nod, Lanette turned the engine over, and the motorcycle roared to life. She eased it to the now fully-open garage shutter, and both she and Lucas looked back to her parents.

"Remember, Lucas!" he shouted to him over the noise. "You promised!"

He could barely hear him, but he still understood and nodded twice quickly. "I know! I'll keep her safe, Mister Steven!"

They turned to face forward, and with a slow squeeze on the accelerator handle, the motorcycle was thundering down the driveway, and out of the manor gates that had yet to be repaired.

Merelda slowly walked to her husband's side, and wrapped her arm around his. "There they go..."

For a moment, Steven was silent, tense. Indeed, they were gone. Going to try and create a better world, and had willing accepted the dangers in trying to do so. His own daughter and her friend... then he spoke. "I hope I haven't just made a huge mistake, Merelda... sending two children out into the middle of a war..." he muttered just loud enough for his wife to hear.

Her hand squeezed his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "It was their choice, honey." she reminded him. "I doubt we could really stop them if we tried..." Between that girl's stubborn streak and ingenuity, and that boy's awesome strength and willpower, he supposed she had a valid point. "Do you believe in them?"

"Hmm..." he grunted. That was a very good question. The odds stacked against them were truly enormous, quite literally as big as the very Earth itself. Certainly no one would blame them if they had decided not to take on such a challenge, and most would label them certifiably insane for even thinking of trying in the first place. But he couldn't do that... for some reason, he just couldn't. Something about their determination just... inspired him. "Yes... I think I do."

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Of course, that fact that Steven and Merelda had faith in those two children didn't change the fact that their daughter had left them yet again, on a journey much more dangerous than the one previous. Thus, it was a very long night for them that they didn't think they would get much sleep during. It was times like these that he admired his wife's ability to keep calm under such pressure, something that the constant days and nights of working for this corrupt Government had robbed him of.

He wasn't sure how exactly _she _had managed to cope with these new developments, but Steven did so the only way he knew how: working on his projects. He just needed something, anything to take his mind off of things, and thus his attention was turned to his usual anti-psychokinetic work. Though he had to admit, after unwittingly getting to know that boy, that sweet boy who saved his daughter... he just didn't have the same ambition as before. It wasn't so much about finding ways to end those "demons," rather than simply taking on a difficult scientific challenge in trying to solve PSIber-Silver's systems flaw. Unfortunately – or fortunately from his own point of view – the situation did not change; he still needed data on Lucas' PSI wavelength in order to determine the specific cause and the solution, and he simply didn't have it. And given the circumstances now, he hoped he never would.

He smiled sardonically, almost amused at the irony of it all. The only thing he could do other than worry himself to death was work on things that could be the children's undoing. And he knew just how sad that was.

Regardless, still unable to make any real progress on his most important assignment, and after doing work on other less-meaningful things, he was about to call it a night when...

The phone rang. The billionaire's shot nerves nearly ripped themselves from his body in both shock and rage. _"Who the devil would be calling now! It's nearly midnight!"_ he screamed in his own mind, rather than do so verbally and wake the whole manor up. He and Merelda weren't the only ones who needed sleep, after all. He looked at the call display, then felt like he was going to throw up in revulsion; it was the Vice President. _Again_.

Swearing that this would be the last time he accepted a call from this man about this topic – and he knew what he was calling about, he had to by now – he answered, and the Vice President's smug face appeared on his flatscreen, the light somewhat stinging his eyes with his home office's minimal lighting at night. His eyebrows were raised, but he was wearing that infuriating grin all the same. "My, my... I'm surprised you answered at this time. Working late?" he asked.

Steven responded with his usual coldness, most definitely not in the mood to deal with this creep so late. "Wouldn't you know? _You're _the one who slapped me with this work order without any warning." he reminded him.

Edel lowered one eyebrow, but kept the other one up. "And I thought we'd discussed and agreed that we'd be getting nowhere on that front without knowledge of Lucas' PSI wavelength."

"Maybe so, but I never said I still wouldn't try to figure out a solution..." He trailed off, suddenly realizing that there was something very wrong with what the Vice President had just said. "Wait... Lucas? Is that... Nowhere Boy's name?" he asked, fully aware of the answer yet trying to keep up a good act.

Then came that sinister, snake-like smile that always sent shivers up his spine. And this time, it didn't go away immediately. And that made it so much worse. "I'm sure you'd know all about that, wouldn't you~?" he drolled, leaning in closer to the screen.

The billionaire's patience was starting to wear dangerously thin. "Are you seriously pulling this act again, Edel? It almost sounds like you're insinuating that I've had Nowhere Boy here the entire time, and I remember telling you that trying it would cause me nothing but trouble."

"Oh ho ho, you'd be right about that~"

There was that teasing, taunting tone again. Oh, how Steven wished he could just rip that smile from his face—

Someone else had entered the video feed from the left. A person he recognized from earlier today... a stocky, bald man with hazel eyes, dressed in a sharp, black tuxedo...

Steven nearly felt his heart stop.

That was the man he'd asked to bring Lucas, Lanette and his wife to him earlier, more easily remembered for the fact that he refused to leave the room after escorting them. He simply looked at him from the other side of the screen, neither frowning nor smiling, but Steven was sure that this traitor was feeling quite smug. Fear and anger rapidly began to run rampant within him. "You back-stabbing son of a bitch..." he growled venomously.

The Vice President laughed. It was a cruel, melancholic, icy laugh that rekindled his fear and compounded on it twofold. "'Back-stabbing' isn't quite the word... I managed to sneak him into your little clubhouse a couple of mornings ago, and you were none the wiser. It can't be called betrayal if he was never on your side to begin with..."

"I am talking about _you_, you filthy degenerate!" Steven clarified, finally raising his voice and standing up out of his swivel chair so suddenly that it was pushed back into the wall.

Edel's expression didn't falter in the slightest, in fact he swore that his stalker's smile grew even wider. Any wider and it would look like his mouth had been cut open at the sides. "Well then... if that's how you're going to be, then I suppose we can get straight to the point." he said. "Thanks to the exploits of Agent Daniels here, I heard the whole conversation between you and Lucas. You picked a _really_ lousy time to grow a conscience, Stevie. That's a _bad _thing to do in this business..."

It was at this point that Steven knew he was royally screwed. "...So what do you intend to do to me now?" the billionaire inquired. He'd clearly been caught, so he might as well salvage what he can of his reputation, and maybe his life. "You know you can't simply get rid of me. I'm the only one with information on the PSIber Project."

Edel blinked, looking to be faking surprise. "Oh, are you now?" Then his smile returned. "I wouldn't be so sure. I'd check your documents right about... now."

Now he was very confused. When he did nothing however, the Vice President emphasized his suggestion by pointing downward, loosely in the direction of Steven's computer. Growing concerned now, he browsed away from the video feed and went into his documents.

His eyes widened with terror as he saw the contents of the once jam-packed hard drive disappearing, folder by folder.

"_What the hell is this_!" Steven roared, quickly returning to the video feed. "What did you do!"

What he received in reply was a much more loose laughter than before, considerably more enthusiastic. "Oh, how I _love_ the look of surprise and despair on your face!" he crowed in triumph. "I've had complete access to your system since this call started, thanks to a little technical know-how from Agent Daniels here." No doubt he was referring to the traitor beside him. "And... done! Now everything you've been working on is safely over here... I'm sure it's all complicated and shit, but I'll be we can find _someone _here who understands it."

He browsed to his documents again desperately... and found nothing. Absolutely nothing. The folder was completely empty, just like he figured the rest of the system was. His hands were trembling with utter anger and utter horror. His life's work... all of his secrets... now in the hands of this contemptible man! "Damn you...!" he growled.

Edel laughed again, regaining that cruel tone of voice. "Ooh, what's this...?" he drolled as he read the stolen data on his own screen. "'Emergency Self-Destruct...'"

Steven's face went ghastly white. He... he'd even copied _that_! "_Don't you fucking dare_!" he ordered, his thoughts immediately drifting to those in the manor. The Emergency Self-Destruct was exactly what it sounded like: a situational, quick destruction of the Cain Manor and its underground facilities in case someone tried to make off with valuable, sensitive information.

"Oh? So I'm assuming this does what I think it does, right?" he asked rhetorically. "I wonder... should I or shouldn't I?~" But now there was no sensitive information to protect; it was _already gone_. Steven honestly didn't know if it would work from a remote location, but he was _not_ eager to find out; if it _did _still work, then the Emergency Self-Destruct was now more akin to the Vice President holding a loaded gun to the heads of everyone in the manor, and his finger was on the trigger.

"Damn you, there are innocent people in here! _My wife is in here_!" he roared at the Vice President.

"Hehhh~ And each and every one of them could have sensitive information that we can't afford to let out..." he replied simply and quickly. "I'd _hate_ to think of what would happen if it wound up in the hands of the Resistance... no, I think the only choice is to blow you to kingdom come without delay! _He he hee_~!"

"_Bastard_! Don't you dare!" Steven pleaded, falling to his knees in desperation. "Please... _I'll do anything_! _Please_, just... _don't hurt her_!"

"Eh? What's this? The megalomaniac Steven Cain bowing at my feet?" Edel said, blinking in surprise, before laughing with insane glee again. "Wow, what a twist! Who knew you could even grovel at all! I'm _amazed_!"

In his mind, he was cursing. Damn this man... _damn him for reducing him to this_!

"Buuut... no dice. Don't worry though, I'll make sure your daughter and her little psychokinetic friend are _right _behind you..."

There was the distinct sound of a finger hitting the Return key...

It happened quickly. A series of tremors that shook the house at its foundation.

Steven Cain was only able to let out a single, terrified gasp before his world fell apart around him...

* * *

**A/N:** Well... now Lanette really _is_ an orphan.

In case it wasn't obvious by now, I have a penchant for creepy, cruel villains. I'll allow you three guesses as to who the character of Vice President Edel was inspired by.

Stay tuned for the next verse, ladies and gentlemen. Drama awaits. And don't forget to review!


	6. Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere, Verse 6

**A/N:** I'm sorry this took so long! I've had a lot of writer's block lately, partially due to doing stuff for college, partially due to working on _Pokemon White Version_. I'll try to be faster in the future.

* * *

_Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere_

_Verse 6_

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It was another big pain in the ass Lucas and Lanette didn't need, especially after being forced to leave her parents behind.

They went as far as they could without stopping, not even stopping at the first town they came by, but going straight to the next. The plan was to keep driving that motorcycle until they were out of Neo Eagleland, but as luck would have it, they hit a snag. The streets of the second town over were bustling not with regular people, but Government agents and military personnel of many sorts. Being wanted people they expected this to happen eventually, but not so _soon_. Had some hapless soldier they didn't see identified them in their escape? Did Lanette's father have a last-minute change of heart and believe "Nowhere Boy" to be his enemy again?

They didn't know what the deal was, but in any event, Lucas and Lanette were stuck in this town for the time being. The last one before they had hit the Neo Eagleland border too... Neo Twoson, it was called.

They were granted lodging by a kind old lady who ran a preschool. Whether the person really knew who they were remained to be seen, but so far it seemed she had just flagged them down to get them off of the road so they wouldn't interfere with the military operation.

It was now midnight. Lanette was hoping to be far away from Neo Eagleland by this time, but it seemed that was not to be. No one in the preschool seemed to know what the military occupation was about, only that it was unexpected and quickly done. That only made her worry more... but at least it gave Lucas time to catch up on his sleep, which he needed pretty badly after all the unceremonious black outs he'd suffered; she insisted that he take the bed. Lanette herself made due with a futon, which she'd readily take over all of the places she'd had to rest at in the Eastville Slums.

Try as she might however, sleep eluded her. There was just too much on her mind... and who could blame her? The week's events gave her a lot to think about, and she knew it would get worse before it got better...

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"Suicide...?"

"No one was more surprised than me, Norman." Vice President Edel said in reply. He was in discussion with the President in his main office about the recent events that occurred at Cain Manor. This office was slightly wider than his own, and more elaborate with the red carpet and a large, exotic plant of some kind occupying each of the back corners. The back wall was made of nothing but a long, glass sheet, which gave a beautiful view of the southern section of Neo Fourside at night.

President Norman rested his arms on his longer-than-necessary, fine oak desk, with one hand on his forehead in exasperation at what he had just been told. "Unbelievable..." he said with sorrow. He looked back at his co-worker and asked, "Do we know why?"

He nodded and told him, "We've just now confirmed the motive after looking over PSIber-Silver's visual logs. It turns out that one of the orphans children Nowhere Boy – pardon me, _Lucas_– had fought to protect a few nights ago was Steven's runaway daughter."

Norman's eyebrows raised. His bald hair devoid of any other hair only seemed to emphasize his eyebrows, even if they were quite thin. "Are you serious?" he said with surprise.

"Completely. According to Agent Daniels, his little girl took off with Lucas a few hours prior to the explosion."

He let out a heavy sigh, having a hard time absorbing all of this new information. Nowhere Boy's identity, the sudden reappearance of Steven Cain's missing daughter and, above all, how these circumstances caused him to take his own life.

Of cours, that's only what Edel told him. Norman didn't need to know that _he'd _been the one to hit the figurative big red button and personally remove the traitor from the equation.

"Well... now we know who to look for, at least." the President said with a dejected tone, trying to find some bright side to these recent events. "But even if we now have all of his research data, losing Steven is going to hurt us greatly. Not only because decrypting his methods will take time, but all of Neo Eagleland will be in chaos when the demise of our ace in the hole hits the media."

Edel hummed in thought. "I guess this is fate's way of balancing things out, isn't it?" he wondered with a hand to his chin. "First the Resistance loses their best player, and now we lose one of ours..."

"And worse yet..." Norman continued for him. "This new Formless PSI user doesn't work under the Resistance. While this means it will be easier to reach him, it also means he'll be _much _harder to find."

Edel sighed with frustration. "What a time for Stevie to develop a conscience, huh?" he half-heartedly joked. "Well in any case, troops are combing the streets of every town in Neo Eagleland. There's nowhere for them to hide."

The President quirked an eyebrow again. "I'd be somewhat surprised if they're still in Neo Eagleland right now."

Edel shrugged and replied, "So would I, in fact we'll have to assume they up and left if we haven't found them by tomorrow night." But then, despite the implications, he smiled. "I have a hunch that they won't though."

"What makes you think so?" Norman asked, interested.

Right... he hadn't told him about _that _yet. There was no knowing how he'd take this. "From what Agent Daniels found out from Steven and Lucas' discussion... it seems he's after the Eight Sanctuaries."

"_What_!" Norman boomed, causing his subordinate to jump backwards in fright at the sudden outburst. "He knows about the Eight Sanctuaries! How!"

Edel shuddered at the harsh reaction. It seemed the President fully understood the implications of that... and he hadn't even told him the worst part yet. "...Because he has the _book_."

And it didn't take Norman long to figure out what "book" and "eight sanctuaries" implied, either. "He has Old Man's diary..." he muttered with realization. That wasn't good at all. Their main motive for wanting the old man gone was, other than because he was a Resistance Leader, to get that book so no one else would learn about the Eight Sanctuaries. And now their biggest threat was _carrying it_. He growled in rage. "This is only going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it?" He looked at Edel, managing to work himself down a little before telling him, "Thanks for the update. You should go home and rest up, because I'll bet we're going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow..."

Edel nodded and replied, "So should you, Norman." He turned around and said, "Good night," before exiting the President's office and closing the door behind him.

Then, his sinister, snake-like grin crawled back onto his face.

_"Damn... I'm gonna miss teasing ol' Stevie."_ he thought. _"That's two interesting people gone, and it hasn't even been a week. I wonder what other kinds of chaos our little Nowhere Boy will cause?"_

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Lanette rose from the makeshift covers of the futon, grunting a little as she gave her arms a stretch. Slumber took its sweet time, but eventually it _did _come for her. Any moment of rest she and Lucas could get from this point on would be much needed and well worth it. After rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she became distinctly aware of the aroma of food wafting throughout the small bedroom. Breakfast was being cooked downstairs. And that knowledge made her stomach growl.

It also meant she'd better wake up her friend, lest he miss out on a free meal. She sure as hell wouldn't be stopping to get him something until they were far away from Neo Eagleland, and from Neo Twoson that trip would likely take a whole day. She didn't want to use her Mother's home-cooked rations so soon either, so he was getting up whether he liked it or not. She got to her feet and loomed over his sprawled-out form on the bed... he'd done a lot of shuffling around. The blankets were barely on the bed at all, covering less than half of his body. His head was also turning on the pillow, and his eyes were twitching like before... what on Earth was he dreaming about? She nudged his shoulder to wake him up.

She was lucky she didn't get any closer to him, because the moment she touched him, he shot up into a sitting position with a breathless gasp. His forehead missed hers by inches, and she was thankful for that since her head was still bandaged. The startled Lucas looked around the room frantically until finally noticing Lanette, putting his hand to his heavily-beating heart to try and calm himself down. "O-oh... g-good morning..." he stammered.

She couldn't help but notice his skin was paler than usual, and he was sweating. Whatever he dreamt about was intense... "Wow, should I have let you sleep in?" she asked teasingly.

"_No_!" he snapped at her, with a decidedly harsher tone than usual. She reared back a bit, surprised. Eventually he realized what he had done and quickly apologized. "S-sorry... nightmares..."

"Ohh... okay." she replied with some understanding. So he _did_ have frequent nightmares... well, that's one mystery solved about Lucas. Whatever could be causing such intense nightmares was anyone's guess though. She supposed he'd tell her when he was ready, or if she were in a gullible mood, whichever comes first. "Well, it smells like breakfast is ready down there. Better eat while we can, because once we hit the road again, I don't want to stop until we're _way _far away from here."

Lucas shook his head, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Oh, right... we're still in Neo Eagleland..." Lanette tilted her own head, looking at him with a bemused expression. It seemed he was still half-asleep... "Don't worry. My brain will start working in a few minutes."

She giggled quietly; he definitely wasn't a morning person. Neither was she at first, but she'd managed to adjust, and so would he given enough time. She took his arm and helped him out of bed, guiding him out of the room and to the stairs... he nearly fell down, stumbling as he misjudged a step onto one of the stairs, nearly taking her down with him. She clamped one hand on the railing and rooted herself firmly in place to prevent this, instead letting him smack into her back. She wasn't sure whether to be concerned or annoyed, but her tone of voice was displayed mixture of both when she asked him, "Are you _sure _you're alright?"

"Ugh... y-yes, I'm fine, really." he assured her. "Just took a bad step... sorry."

She scoffed, but smiled in spite of herself, helping him down the stairs. "You _would've _been sorry if you'd knocked me down. You'd have a cast like the one on my head when I was done with you!" she joked. But even though it was a threat, Lucas was laughing. A little loudly in fact. "What, what's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, nothing." he replied as they reached the ground floor. "You just remind me so much of my friend sometimes."

Lanette's eyebrows perked up with curiousity. "Who's that?" she asked.

Sounding a little more awake now, he answered, "Her name was Kumatora. She's really strong, really good at wrestling. She's only a couple of years older than you, I think." He smiled. "She also cursed as much as you."

She gave him a playful punch in the shoulder for that wisecrack, scoffing in response, but still smiling. It was nice to see him open up a little. "We're not _that _similar, are we?" she wondered.

"Eh, well..." he trailed off, before leaning close to her and whispering into her ear, "She was a Psychokinetic if that counts, but that's the only difference. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were her distant relative or something."

Well, that was definitely interesting. So this "Kumatora" was essentially Lanette with PSI, and two years older than she was. "I'd like to meet her sometime..." she blurted out.

"...I can't wait to see her again either." he agreed, sounding more like his usual, depressed self.

They made their way into the main room of the preschool, which had been littered with all manner of toys and building blocks when they arrived last night, but now had all of those playthings shoved to the walls in place of a collection of wooden desks. They were pushed together to take the shape of a long table, where several people were already sitting and eating: all people who had been forced to come in here last night due to the sudden army occupation. In the back corner of the room, the old woman who had been kind enough to take them all in was doing the cooking, either shoving bread into the four-slot toaster or flipping eggs in the frying pan.

"Looks like we're having eggs again." Lucas noted, before grinning broadly. "Not that I'm complaining or anything..."

Lanette _did _remember him saying that he liked omelets. She didn't really care about the menu either, food was food. Both of them took a pair of empty seats next to each other, waiting to be served. "At least we're getting fed before we go. Can't argue with that."

"I'm afraid you might be here longer than that, little lady." one of the men at the table addressed her. He seemed pretty average, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. His hair was short and brown, and his eyes were green. His voice was a bit deep though. "Those soldiers are still out there. Last news report said they'd be here until midnight."

Lanette's jaw dropped. "Are you serious!" she asked.

"'Fraid so. Sorry."

"Aw, _man_..." she grumbled as she slumped into her chair, resisting the urge to cuss in front of all these people. "So much for heading out to... umm..." She blanched for a moment, then turned to Lucas. "Where _were _we going?"

Lucas opened his mouth to answer her... but that was when he realized he didn't have an answer to give her. Instead he put his hand to his chin in thought. "I... I don't think we decided that." he admitted. "We were just eager to get out of Neo Eagleland."

"Ahh, right..." she remembered. Indeed, safety had taken priority, and they didn't have any time to think about their destination in depth. They just wanted to get out from behind enemy lines. "Yyyeah, maybe we can talk about that after breakfast." she suggested.

Lucas nodded and agreed. "Okay."

Not even a minute later, the aforementioned breakfast arrived in front of them, and they thanked the kind old woman. She looked at them for a moment, or rather at Lucas; her stare was somewhat... unnerving. For the first time, they got a good analysis of her. She was a little on the short side, which wasn't unnatural for someone her age, but wrinkles appeared to be the only minor imperfections on her skin. Though old, she was kind of pretty, with shoulder-length white hair and a frilly pink dress. Her eyes were blue and weathered, but her movements were anything but; she seemed quite upbeat, moving almost like a normal person despite her age. And Lucas thought he knew why.

"Lanette..." he whispered to his friend.

"Eh?" She leaned in to listen.

As the woman walked away, he told her, "I think that pretty old lady is a Psychokinetic."

"...You _think_?" she repeated. "You mean you can't tell for sure?"

"Well, usually I can, but... it's... kinda weird." he said. "It's almost like she's trying to hide it or something."

"Ohh... I think I've heard of that. Some Psychokinetics can hide their... 'wavelength' or whatever Dad called it. He had to make special devices to detect them." she explained. "But... why is this important again?"

His eyes shifted to the old woman. "Because she's trying really, _really_ hard to hide it, and I can _still_ feel it clearly." he replied. "That lady is strong... _really _strong."

Well, now she understood why they were whispering. "You don't think she knows you're a Psychokinetic, do you?" she asked, a bit concerned.

Lucas slowly nodded to her. "I'm not all that good at hiding my PSI... I've never had to before, so I don't really know how. She probably knew the moment she saw us last night."

Lanette bit her lip. She just _had_ to wonder where in the world this kid came from where he _wouldn't _have to hide his "gift," but that wasn't the point. The point was that he'd been made out, and that could spell trouble. "Then we'd better be careful..."

They looked back to the old woman, who seemed to be happily slaving over the hot stove again. She _looked_ innocent and harmless enough... but both of them knew only too well that what was happening on the outside and what was happening on the _inside _could be two very different things.

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A scientist slumps over in his comfortable swivel chair, one oddity among many, many others in the enclosed laboratory chamber. The conundrum of PSIber-Silver's malfunction was a tough nut to crack, to put it mildly. The bald, bespectacled man in a white lab coat thought that the late Steven Cain's research notes would shed some light on the strange errors that had corrupted her system after the indirect blast of Formless PSI, but he had made no more leeway than the inventor of the PSIber System did. The other three scientists in the room with him, either sitting at their own terminals or looking over their damaged superweapon from up close, had no such luck in solving the problem themselves. Without the vital information on "Nowhere Boy's" brand of Formless PSI, they had no means of stopping PSIber-Silver or any of the other PSIbers from suffering the same errors as before. They knew no more than Steven did.

So eventually, the decision was made to correct whatever errors PSIber-Silver sustained, things they _knew _they could fix, and then reactivate her. The person sitting across from the first scientist, on the other side of the room, was contacting Vice President Edel about this decision now. No one in the room was eager to inform him of this failure, nor were they eager to send a flawed product back out into the battlefield, but they had no other options. They knew that it would only be a matter of time before the Resistance began to act in retaliation for "Old Man," and "Nowhere Boy" still being at large caused even more complications. She had no time to be laying on an operating table.

There was the audible "click" of the phone being set down on the other desk, and all eyes were now on the scientist who had put it down. He stared at the first worker, and gave him a stern nod. The grim expression on his face told all that needed to be said about the Vice President's reaction, but it seemed he had agreed with their plan nonetheless.

It took only a few presses of keys on his keyboard before the room darkened, and a loud hum was coming from the operating table. It lasted for a brief few seconds before everything returned to normal, and the body on the cold, steel slab began to stir. Her visor flashed a vibrant silver, caused by her eyes opening from behind it. They glowed the same colour, her pattern of PSI revealing itself in them for the slightest moment.

"PSIber system initialized. Awaiting orders."

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The day went on.

Things were about as eventful as they could be in the preschool-turned-temporary residence. Their old, Psychokinetic host – though Lucas and Lanette were the only ones aware of this, as far as they knew – offered whatever she could in order to prevent her guests from being bored, but tried to involve herself as little as possible. The preschool being a place meant to entertain children however, there was little to offer to the adults, and Lucas had no interest in children's toys. The best the lady had managed to find was a deck of cards. It kept six of the people occupied with a no-money Poker game at least. Two of them seemed satisfied just watching the old, outdated television. As for Lucas and Lanette themselves, currently interested in neither activity, they took a couple of chairs to a secluded corner and prepared to discuss more important matters.

"Looks like they're killing time just fine..." Lanette said as she casually leaned back in her chair, looking at the ones playing cards. "I'm amazed they can be so relaxed with Government flunkies running around the streets like they own the place."

"...Don't they though?"

Lucas' seemingly innocent joke elicited a chuckle from her. "Yeah, I guess they do... that only makes me more worried." she told him, leaning back in close. "So we have to get out of here, and soon. Any brainwaves?"

He was looking at the scrap of paper given to him by Lanette's Father, the one that listed the Eight Sanctuaries and where they were located. With irritation, he shook his head and replied, "I don't even know where these places _are_..."

In hindsight, it was a bad idea to let Lucas decide where to go if he didn't know anything about the geography of this nation. Lanette gently relieved him of the paper and took a look at it herself, going down the list one by one. "Let's see..." she muttered. "Giant Step – South City, Lilliput Steps – Mount Mayamayhem, Milky Well – Tallgreen Forest, Rainy Circle – Galen Swampland..." She liked the areas listed less and less as she went on. Most of these places weren't even remotely close to Neo Eagleland, or even on the same _landmass_. Was the Government that desperate, moving them this much? "_Damn_... all of these places are so far away. South City is the closest, and even driving non-stop, it would take us two or three days to get there."

"Two or three _days_!" he exclaimed, barely keeping his voice down.

"Yeah... this is gonna be a _long _trip." Lanette affirmed. "And remember, this is going non-stop, without stopping to eat or get gas for my motorcycle or anything."

In other words, even _longer_ than three days. Lucas hung his head low. "Will we even _get _to this 'South City' place without the Government or the Resistance stopping us?"

She couldn't answer him right away. "We're gonna _have _to. There's nowhere to go but forward now."

She was right, and he knew it. She didn't sound overly confident, but he was glad she was at least a _little_ optimistic. She was feeling better about this than he was, that was for sure. "What is 'Giant Step' supposed to _be _anyway?" he wondered. Lanette could only shrug in reply, not sure herself. And it wasn't as if they could simply ask any old person about the Eight Sanctuaries, not without giving away what they were doing and where they were going. Still, they needed to know just what to look for...

She got an inspiration. "Why not check the Black Diary?" she suggested to Lucas. "That 'Ness' guy went to all of the Sanctuaries didn't he? Maybe he wrote about them."

The ears of the old lady, who was doing dishes left from breakfast, perked up when she heard that name.

"Huh... that's a good idea." Lucas agreed, moving to fish the aforementioned book out of his back pocket and open it.

The old lady's eyes widened at the sight of it.

A sudden "crash" disturbed the peace of the room, and everyone looked in its direction; she had dropped a plate in her shock... which ended up being somewhat fortunate for her as the sound of shattering porcelain drowned out her gasp. She quickly regained herself. "Sorry, everyone... butterfingers." she apologized sheepishly. Everyone seemed not to mind and went back to what they were doing.

Everyone except for Lucas that is, whose eyes narrowed dangerously on the woman for a second... his instincts told him that staying around her for much longer wouldn't end well.

Going back to the topic at hand, he browsed the pages of the book, looking for mentions of "Giant Step." It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. He was thankful Ness' writing style was simple and direct. Lanette moved her chair over so she could look at the text as well.

_I wasn't sure what to expect when I went up to the first Sanctuary, called "Giant Step." All I really knew was that it was a cultural landmark for Onett, but I'd never had the time or interest to go and see it myself. Well, I wasn't expecting to have to go through one of Giygas' brainwashed monsters either... even if I was just starting out on my adventure, that fight was easily one of the hardest I'd had to go through. When I actually made it though, I realized that the Sanctuaries were pretty much called after what they were; Giant Step was literally a giant footprint in the grassy ground of Onett's northern mountain range. Even after the whole journey was over, not even Jeff was able to figure out what left a human-shaped footprint that big, let alone find what packed it full of PSI power. But as ridiculous as it was, it did what it was supposed to, and taught me to expect the unexpected. And as far as "unexpected" goes, this was the tip of the iceberg._

If Lucas hadn't been through his own share of ridiculous and senseless hardships, he would've had trouble believing this story.

"A... giant footprint in the ground." Lanette mumbled. "_Really_?" She evidently wasn't as gullible. He didn't blame her.

"Well... I _guess _that makes it easier to find. I mean, how would you miss a huge footprint?" he suggested, taking his own stab at being optimistic.

"I _guess_..." she replied, letting out a sigh. "I swear, if my Dad didn't know about this himself, I would _never _believe it. In fact I'd probably think this 'Ness' guy was loose a few screws."

Another plate shattered.

"Sorry!" the old woman apologized.

Lanette shuddered, trying to calm her nerves down. "Every time she does that, I keep thinking it's a Government moron breaking the window."

Lucas felt for her, also trying not to overreact. "Tell me about it..."

"...Anyway." She cleared her throat. "Well, now we know where we're going and what to look for... guess all that's left is to wait for the army to hit the road, huh?"

"Looks that way..."

But if what that other man told her during breakfast was true, that wouldn't happen until midnight... Lanette groaned in discontent. It was going to be a _long _day.

"I'm gonna go watch TV!" she declared, getting out of her chair and making her way over to the couch where the other two, a black-haired man and blonde-haired woman, were sitting and watching the television. "Hopefully we'll get lucky and those control freaks will leave early or something..."

Lucas seriously doubted that, but with nothing else to do in order to kill time, he decided to join her anyway after politely returning the chairs to where they were at the makeshift Poker table. Usual sofas were made for two or three people, but this one was much bigger than any he had seen before. Long and brown, probably capable of seating at least _five _separate people, he, Lanette and the two there from the start could easily all fit. It was really soft too. Both teenagers, preparing for a long wait, made themselves comfortable on either side of the people who held each other as if they were a couple. Lucas assumed they were husband and wife, or at least romantically involved to be in such a position in a public area. But deciding the truth was better left to the imagination, he instead turned his attention to the television set.

"Sorry if we're intruding or anything." Lanette addressed them. "We just needed something to pass the time."

"Oh, it's no problem at all. Don't worry." said the brunette woman. The black-haired man nodded.

As for what was on the television, it was slightly confusing to Lucas. Four people were visible on the screen at periodic moments, standing in a largely elaborate room with decorations on the back walls he couldn't begin to try describing. One elderly man stood behind a podium with another screen that displayed something very loosely like honeycombs on it. The other three, a younger man and what appeared to be a mother and daughter, stood opposite each other on either side of a larger podium. The man's side was red, and the girl's was white. They also had the same honeycomb-like screen displayed on it. It seemed the man and the mother-daughter team were competing for spots on the honeycomb board somehow, spots on it matching the colour of their podium. Save for that though, Lucas couldn't figure out what the point of the show was.

_"The letter 'T.' Who was the man who invented the simple light bulb based on the principle that heated metals could generate light?"_said the elderly man at the separate podium.

Both parties smacked what Lucas could only assume to be some kind of button on their podium, but red light flowing from the front of the man's side of the podium towards the honeycomb board informed him that he had hit it first. _"Thomas Edison."_ he replied. There was a _"ding!"_sound, and he just now noticed that there was a letter "T" in a flashing honeycomb on the board, which then turned red.

...Well, that was a mildly interesting fact. Maybe this show was some sort of game played by those people to prove their knowledge?

Just as his interest was starting to grow however, the display on the television suddenly changed to something that he quickly realized had nothing to do with the game show. _"We interrupt this program to deliver an urgent news bulletin."_ said a plain, almost monotone male voice, with the words _"Breaking News"_displayed in large, white font on a blue background.

"Oh, _c'mon_!" Lanette whined. "Don't tell me this is more crap about the war!"

"Ugh, probably." the young man they were sitting with groaned. "Happens at least three times every day, cuts into all my football games."

Lucas was actually very interested as soon as they said it was about the war, but seeing their aggravation over the interruption, he decided not to show his enthusiasm. He simply remained silent and watched.

_"The people of Neo Fourside have been thrown into a state of panic by the explosion that rocked Cain Manor last night." _said the same male voice from the screen.

Lanette almost shot up from her seat. "Excuse me?" she muttered, both her and the young couple now watching the surprise news report intently.

_"Due to presidential request, news stations have withheld the knowledge of this until now, when Neo Fourside President Norman Schroder was ready to make an official statement. We'll now go to him live."_

"President...!" Lucas whispered. He knew that term well enough by now; it referred to the one that lead the Government.

A few seconds later, there stood the man, standing behind a brown podium in front of blue curtains adorned with a large eagle stitched into them. The podium had an assortment of different microphones stuck to its top that he was about to speak into. As for the man himself, he looked... impressive. A bald, tanned man dressed in a fine black tuxedo, he looked bigger and stronger than what Lucas expected of a leader... not that he had seen many before, but the only one he knew didn't look nearly as threatening. His face was stoic, his gaze piercing even if he wasn't looking right at the screen.

_"So this is the man who runs the Government..." _he thought to himself. Now he knew the face of the enemy, and he made it a point not to forget it.

Soon, other people in the room were gathering around the television when they heard the President was about to speak. _"It is with great reluctance that I address this issue, however something has happened that the world must know about immediately, lest we leave ourselves in ignorance, and not ignorance of the blissful sort."_ Even his voice seemed threatening. Deep and powerful. Even on the other side of a television screen, his sheer presence was commanding. _"It is common knowledge that Steven Cain, founder and C.E.O. of CainTech, was the creator of the PSIber Project. It is thanks to his efforts that we can fight back against the Psychokinetic threat."_ Lucas felt a definite wave of spite from Lanette, and also great concern... _"Yesterday night around midnight, his manor literally exploded. Paramedics and armed forces are still searching for survivors, however..."_ he hesitated. _"The bodies of Steven Cain and his wife Merelda Cain were found earlier today."_

The room was filled with gasps of horror, and Lucas could hear Lanette's above everyone else's. He looked right to her, hand covering her mouth. Murmurs echoed out from the mouths of the others in the room. "He's... dead!" "Oh my God...!" "What the hell!"

_"So far, Steven's passing is the only fact we know for certain."_ the President continued. _"The evidence we have points to suicide, however we haven't ruled out the possibility of terrorism. We honestly don't know much about this tragedy yet, so I can't reveal anything more."_ he confessed. _"But if this is murder, then no one in this Government will rest until the ones responsible are found and brought to justice."_

Lucas felt a chill go down his spine at those words. The ones responsible... why did he have the rotten feeling that this man was referring to him?

Lanette's eyes were tearing up... the shock and despair that welled up in her cut him like a knife. He didn't blame her. What was it like to learn that your only family was... _gone_?

Evidently it was too much for her. Rather than make a scene in front of everyone here, she got up from the couch and ran straight upstairs.

"Lanette?" Lucas called out to her. "What's wrong! Lanette!" He was scared for her... what was she going to do now? The last time he'd witnessed someone distraught from losing a family member...

He shook his head quickly. Now wasn't the time to think about that. He took off after her immediately.

While no one else in the room seemed to notice, the old lady watched them with morbid intrigue as they left for the second floor. She silently followed them.

Lanette ran straight into her temporary bedroom, and the moment she believed she was out of view of anyone else, her tears started to flow freely. She fell to her knees as her body trembled, teardrops soaking into the rug. "Wh... what the _hell_...!" She couldn't stop her voice from quaking.

_The bodies of Steven Cain and his wife Merelda Cain were found earlier today._

The words replayed in her mind, over and over. She could feel bile rising in her throat.

"Lanette..." came Lucas' meek voice from behind her, approaching her slowly.

She was... unstable. Going through a rush of emotions, and none of them were good. He... didn't know what to do next. She knew he was here now, but... what could he _say_ to her? What could you say to someone who just lost the only people she really cared about? ...Well, the only people as far as he knew. But still, it was her _family_ that had reportedly died... such a traumatic event had left _him _with scars that hadn't yet healed.

"Lanette... what are you feeling now...?" he asked her. _He _already knew the answer to that; what he was really trying to find out was if she was actually listening to him.

Eventually Lanette's tears stopped hitting the floor, and her waterlogged face slowly turned to look at him. She just stared at him, silent except for the sobs she was trying to hold back. But at least she was starting to respond... what was her state of mind now? He opened his mind... he could feel her fear. Her sorrow. But above all of them... her _rage_. An uncontrollable rage, like a beast trying to claw its way out of its cage and lash out on what had imprisoned it.

_"Oh God..."_ He could no longer say anything. The last time he'd seen someone that felt like that... that was when his Father learned about his Mother's death... it... _broke_ him. _"No... not again...!"_

"Go away..."

Her voice was dark, jaded. He sucked in air; this was turning into a repeat of back then...! No, he couldn't let that happen! The last time it did... no, he had to calm her down. If he didn't, people would get hurt, not the least of which would be herself. "Lanette... please calm down..." he said to her as gently as he could manage.

_"I said go away!"_And then the caged beast lashed out.

There was no time to prepare for her punch, brimming with more fury than even Kumatora had ever managed. It was enough to knock him to the floor, and his nose ached horribly, broken and bleeding.

She'd just... _attacked _him.

Lucas could only lay on the floor and stare at her, terrified... it was too late. She'd already gone over the edge.

"You... _freak_!"

The shout made his ears ring.

"You fucking _freak_! If... if you hadn't showed up...!"

He couldn't believe what she was starting to hint at, finding courage enough to try and stand up. "Lanette-"

"_Shut up_!" She kicked him, knocking him back down and bouncing his head off of the floor. Even carpeted, it stung badly. "Shut up... just _shut up and stay away from me_! _I hate you_!"

She ran out of the room. He could only lay there, blood trickling from both parts of his face that she had hit.

_I hate you!_

The words tore into his heart...

There was a cacophony of screams downstairs. He could not move, but he listened. "Wait, where is she going!" "Hey, stop! The army is still out there!"

_Now _he found the stamina to sit up. She'd went outside... while the army was still out there! If they found her...

He dared not entertain the thought. Suffice it to say it wouldn't end well for her. He couldn't let that happen... reasons for her outburst be damned, he had to stop her. Quickly using PK Healing to fix his nose and headache, he scrambled to his feet and ran out the door—

The old lady was standing firmly in his way.

Without warning and faster than someone her age should even be able to move, he palm struck out and grasped his forehead. A horrible shock went through his mind... it felt like something was drilling into his skull, splitting his head like a coconut...

His eyes rolled back as the world spun around him...

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She ran. She ran because her terrified mind couldn't think of anything else to do. She ran past the old lady coming up the stairs. She ran past the puzzled civilians. She even ran outside and past her own motorcycle. But she didn't care... that boy was a curse, a terrible curse that brought destruction wherever he went.

She just needed to get away from him. She didn't know what else to do...

Her mind saw some form of sense when a regiment of green-clad people walked down the adjacent street. Soldiers... the army... the Government...

And they saw her.

She ran away from them too.

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The Vice President's phone rang. Lazily he turned on the speakerphone, wondering what sort of unimportant babble would be coming through the receiver this time. "Ahoy-hoy..."

"Mister Vice President! We've just located one of the fugitives!"

_One _of them...? The Government had so many enemies... why did this idiot think necessary to call him about this specific one?

"She's been identified as Lanette Cain!"

Edel literally jumped out of his chair, rolling it all the way to the back of the room and nearly throwing the phone off of his desk in his frantic movements. "What! _Where is she_!" he shouted with no hesitation.

"We've just found her in the streets of Neo Twoson!"

He took the time to grin in victory. He was right, they were still in Neo Eagleland. But then he turned serious again. "_Just _her? Nowhere Boy isn't with her?"

"No, she's definitely alone."

His grin returned, wider than before... did she seriously just go wandering out into an army-infested town all on her own, without Lucas' protection? This... this was just _too perfect_. "Then capture her! And make sure she's alive, she must know where Nowhere Boy is! Beat his location out of her if you have to!"

"Yes, Sir!"

The line went dead, and the speakerphone shut off on its own. Edel brought his chair back to where it was, but found that he couldn't sit still... he was just too _elated_. What a foolish mistake for Steven's daughter to make! Clearly brainpower didn't run in the family. He had a chance to end this whole affair right now... oh how he loved being right!

_But_... maybe it was too good to be true.

Neo Twoson had plenty of men roaming its streets right now, but... what would happen when they _did_ find Nowhere Boy? He started to panic a bit when he realized the obvious answer. They might not be enough to contain him... no, they _definitely_ wouldn't be enough. But he couldn't let this opportunity slip through his fingers! But all of the PSIbers were already out on patrol, and recalling them would take time...

He then mentally slapped himself. Not _all _of them were out! He dialed numbers on his phone, trying to reach the research department. He was greeted with a "Hello?" from one of the female researchers.

"It's Edel." he replied. "Has PSIber-Silver been reactivated yet?"

"Yes, Sir. She's awaiting orders."

"Then send her to Neo Twoson immediately!" he ordered. "We just found Nowhere Boy's cohort there, which means he must be nearby..." He sneered sadistically. "And I'm sure she must be _itching _for some payback."

"Sir... are you sure about this?" the woman questioned. "We weren't able to fix her issue regarding his Formless PSI. If she were struck by it again..."

He quietly cursed. He'd forgotten about that. But there was nothing else to send after him... her response time was best out of whatever resources were available, and time was wasting even now. "The rest of the PSIbers are indisposed. There's no one else to send." he told her.

An idea struck him then. He smiled.

"Although... if we're lucky, she might get to analyze his wavelength more closely. Make sure she does this first and foremost if she encounters him again!"

"Ahh... then even if she should fail again, we'll have what we need. Then it will be done, Sir."

She hung up, and Edel finally found the capacity to lounge comfortably in his chair again... this was almost too good to be true. No matter what happened now, they would bring Nowhere Boy down now, or have the knowledge to do so at a later date. _And _they'd have his accomplice.

No matter what happened, victory would be assured in the end...

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He felt... detached... or like he was clinging to something for dear life... some mixture of the two. Like floating in an empty, foggy void with only a single lifeline keeping him from drifting away, yet an incredible force both tried to push him away and prevented him from dragging himself back to safety. A force that felt as hot as the sun, yet as cold as ice, yet as painful as a bolt of lightning; and he knew what it felt like to be struck by lightning.

That was his best depiction of what he was going through now as his mind was being pushed away from his body, along with an unstable mixture of airheadedness and a splitting headache.

He could feel her inside of him, an intruder within his own soul that had forced her way in, and was still trying to push him away even now. He felt powerless before the psychokinetic might of this innocent-looking old woman... this didn't stop him from trying to push her back, but it was akin to a fly attacking an elephant; an object immovable by anything other than her own will. He simply could not drive her out no matter how hard he tried.

This dreadful feeling of helplessness... it was _terrifying_...

He could tell what she was doing. Memories, terrible memories that he preferred to leave buried resurfaced as she scanned through them without relent or remorse. The sensation of her prying of a memory from its repression ranged from uncomfortable as a cold touch on a sensitive part of his skin, to a pain so unbearable that his soul almost physically cried out. And every time she ripped a memory from the deep recesses of his mind, he was forced to relive it.

So many things he wanted to forget... so many terrors...

_"S-stop...!"_

And yet even despite his cries of sorrow and agony, she did not stop. The layers of his mind were being harshly peeled away, and he could do nothing but watch and feel it. It enraged and terrified him to be so powerless...

He figuratively cried out in sweet relief when she starting going into his recent, not-so-bad memories.

There wasn't as much pain in them, not _nearly _as much, but he still felt terribly violated and wanted this horrible experience to end. But she wasn't done yet... what was she looking for? What could he have that was of any significance to this woman?

His question was soon answered...

_"He... sacrificed himself... for all of us... I... I wish I could've met him... talked to him at least once..."_

_"I'm sure he felt the same way... Lucas. This book belonged to the old man. It's supposed to contain secrets of a great power. He... wanted me to give it to you."_

Memories of the meeting he'd had with Timothy McGuiness... more specifically, the exact moment where he received the Black Diary from him.

_"He... sacrificed himself... for all of us..."_

Those words repeated themselves over and over...

...Something changed.

He no longer felt like he was being pushed away... the old lady seemed distraught... unfocused.

He seized the opportunity to strike back with all the mental force he could muster.

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The old lady gasped in horror, both mentally and physically pushed back out of the guest bedroom.

Lucas blinked twice, realizing he was back here... back in control.

"_You_...!" he growled, showing no intention of hiding his power now – and why would he? She knew all about it anyway. With an Offense Up-charged arm, he forcefully yanked the stunned woman back up by the collar of her dress and pressed her against the nearest wall. "How _dare_ you! Do you have _any_ idea what I've been through!" he shouted, not caring about who might hear downstairs. "You have _no_ right to just barge into my mind and make me _relive all of that pain again_!"

She shrunk back, making no attempt to hide that she was afraid... but there was more... sorrow? Regret? "I... _I'm sorry_! I'm so, _so _sorry...!" she stammered as tears started to well up in her eyes.

Her apology was enough to give him pause. Her words were genuine... not driven by fear. In complete contrast to her brutal, forced entry of his mind, she cleanly regretted it now. She was also shocked and sad... these feelings weren't generated by fear either. Something was... wrong with this woman. Something she just saw in his mind... about the Black Diary?

Lucas looked to his own arm... it was shaking.

He was _furious_.

Never... he never, _ever_ recalled being this _angry _before. Every impulse in his body screamed at him to make her pay for the pain this woman had just put him through, but his conscience... told him it wasn't right to make this woman suffer. Whatever she saw in the memories of that meeting seemed to be putting her through enough agony already...

And then he remembered there was something he had to do.

He dropped her to the floor, where she immediately began to grovel at his feet. "I... I didn't know... I-I thought..."

Lucas sighed to himself, trying to calm his nerves. He so, _so_ badly wanted to know why she saw fit to invade his privacy like that, but he had no time to listen, let alone let her sort her _own_ frazzled nerves out. He had to find Lanette before something happened to her. "I'll deal with you later." he told her sternly, running for the stairs. He had completely lost his concept of time thanks to this... _interruption_. He prayed it hadn't been too long and that his friend hadn't gotten too far.

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It was a game of cat and mouse, between Lanette and the many, many Government soldiers trying desperately to track her down. A game she was beginning to think wouldn't end, given how long it had gone on so far. It was still daylight, but it felt like an eternity had passed. She was having immense trouble finding anywhere to hide. She was hungry, scared, and in need of rest above all.

Eventually she dove into a suitably dark alleyway to attempt to lose the pair of soldiers trying to chase her down, one she made sure had exits from both ends so she wouldn't get cornered, and also made sure they hadn't seen her rush in. It seemed she was in luck, because there were a few trash cans and dumpsters here. It must be the communal garbage disposal. Quick, but knowing she had to be quiet to have any chance of hiding, she gently opened one of the dumpsters. She displayed private athletic prowess, at first using an arm to keep the lid up, but then switching to a leg when she crawled in, so she could set it down without making too much noise. It was fortunate that everything in here was in black bags... she tried not to think about what could be inside as she dug around the bags to get under them, fearing that simply laying on top of them wouldn't be enough.

It turned out to be some good foresight. The soldiers were not as stupid as she had hoped, not seeing her continuing down the street, but noticing the great deal of hiding places in the dark alley. She could hear their footsteps echoing along the alley walls, and could hear them opening the trash cans and dumpsters along their way. They were getting dangerously close to hers. She made sure no part of her body or clothing was visible.

Her breath halted as her dumpster was opened, growing afraid as the tiniest specks of light found their way through the large trash bags...

Then the lid closed, and the footsteps of the soldier who inspected her temporary hiding place moved on, none the wiser.

She held her breath until she could no longer hear the heavy "clunks" of their combat boots... and then she calmed down, savouring every moment of rest she had. She was safe for now.

She crawled back up to the top of the garbage bags so she was more comfortable, ever so careful not to smack the side of the dumpster by accident. It was a stroke of luck going into this dumpster... its contents were soft and squishy. Again she decided it was best not to try and deduce what she was laying on, but it was still comfortable and she was thankful for that.

Of course, this whole mess she'd landed herself in – literally, in fact – could've been avoided if she hadn't lost her temper...

The guilt had followed her like a ghost for the entirety of her run. She hurt him... she hurt him both physically and mentally, with what she did and said to him. And she cursed herself for it. _Why_ had she done that? What drove her to attack and then run out on the only friend she had left in this world now? Was she just that angry? No... that wasn't an excuse. She'd just learned that her parents were dead, _of course_ she'd be upset. _Anyone _would be.

But that wasn't any reason to beat the crap out of the one person in that preschool who understood what was wrong with her... even if it _was _partially caused by him, he never intended for any of this, did he?

She sobbed silently, allowing a tear to fall from her face. She'd done something so stupid... she worried that Lucas would never forgive her. She quite simply treated him the way her father used to treat other Psychokinetics... and she thought she was different from him...

What was he thinking now? Was he alright...?

...

...

...

Time passed...

After a long while, the open creases of the dumpster no longer gave off light. The fabricated sky had turned to night, and with nowhere to go, Lanette had spent all of it recuperating within the metal box. She had been gone for so long... was Lucas worried about her, searching for her even now? Or was he angry, happy to have her gone?

The latter question weighed on her conscience. She wanted nothing more than to apologize... but what if he was upset with her? She had seen the damage he could do first-hand, but never had reason to fear it because she never thought she would get on his bad side... until now. Even for a daredevil, the thought of his Formless PSI turned on _her _was terrifying...

...But eventually, she slapped some sense into herself. There was nothing done by procrastinating other than prolonging fate. No, this was not the way she did things. She had to find him and make things right.

It had been a while since she heard the marching of the army... was it at all possible she had stayed hidden until midnight, and they gave up on the search? She doubted it; surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to leave the town after seeing her here. But still, their activity had dropped somewhat... she might be able to sneak her way back to the preschool.

Ever careful, she dared to peek out of the dumpster lid. Satisfied that she could not see any signs of life roaming the streets, she crawled out and left it more or less the ways he found it. It felt good to be breathing fresh air again.

Now, if only she could remember her way back to the preschool...

She had no idea where she was in Neo Twoson. Being chased by the army had lead her on an involuntary tour of the city, and she didn't have time to memorize the paths she'd taken. All she knew for sure was that her destination was on the far East side of the city... she looked up to the fabricated, damaged sky at the fake moon. This wasn't the first time she'd gotten lost in a large area... she knew a certain trick to finding her way: looking to the sky to see where the sun or moon were rising or falling from to determine direction. And it appeared that it wasn't midnight yet, since the moon hadn't yet centered itself in the sky and she doubted she had stayed in that dumpster past midnight. She knew where to go.

But if midnight hadn't come and gone, where were the soldiers...?

No, this wasn't the time to look a gift-horse in the mouth. She crept out of the alleyway and back onto the main street, trying to look as casual as she could as she walked down the sidewalk. The town had gotten surprisingly cool at night... though that could just be because she'd been in that humid dumpster for hours on end, in which case she welcomed it. The streetlights were put to shame by the brightness of the moon tonight, bathing the street and the buildings in a dull silver glow... she didn't know it could get so bright. She looked to it, and the contrast of the fake night sky hurt her eyes...

Wait...

She could swear it was getting brighter... larger even. What the hell?

And then it moved.

Or rather, duplicated itself... the moon she was _used _to looking at was there in all its glory, not nearly as bright as the body of light that had taken its place a second ago... she turned her attention to that, and it was getting closer...

A staggering moment of déjà vu befell her. That silver light moving along the sky...

Oh _shit_...!

The light came to an abrupt halt on the street just a few feet ahead of her. It started to die down...

"Subject identified as fugitive Lanette Cain. Threat level D. Current bounty: undetermined."

Fear gripped her heart and her body like ice. She couldn't move, gradually becoming scared out of her mind. "You...!"

The light dimmed enough to reveal the lithe form of PSIber-Silver within it.

Suddenly, Lanette wished she was dealing with the soldiers instead. It became painfully obvious why they were no longer here: so they wouldn't get in _her _way.

"B-but... _how_!" she demanded. "Lucas beat the shit out of you!"

"Damage inflicted upon technology is repairable and replaceable. My systems have been fully operational as of nine twenty-four AM today." she explained, her voice as dull and monotone as before. Did that mean she was fully recovered from that harsh psychokinetic beating? It was a thought Lanette dare not entertain, or she would only frighten herself more. "Inquiry: what is the current location of 'Nowhere Boy' Lucas?"

So she was here in search of him... _of course_ she was. Why _else _would she be wasting her time with an unimportant human? "I... I don't know." she lied.

"False. Do not attempt to falsify information." she responded. "I can monitor heart rate, perspiration and emotion. Lying to me is impossible."

Lanette cursed under her breath. How had she forgotten about the mind-reading thing that Psychokinetics could do?

"Repeating inquiry: what is the current location of 'Nowhere Boy' Lucas?"

She was starting to get annoyed. Gathering what courage she could, she retorted, "Look, trash heap, I haven't seen him in hours. He might've skipped town without me for all I know."

"Incorrect." she replied. "Government forces had been monitoring all potential exits of Neo Twoson. An escape attempt was not made."

So he _was _still here... and bloody hell, that positioning would make escaping undetected next to impossible, if PSIber-Silver weren't enough of an obstacle on her own.

"I will not repeat my inquiry again." she stated. "What is the current location of 'Nowhere Boy' Lucas? And I will take this opportunity to notify you that I have been given authority to extract information from you by force."

That last part started to make Lanette sweat and step backward. Essentially PSIber-Silver was _allowed _to beat the shit out of her... and the last time Lanette had been stupid enough to attack this freak of nature, she'd gotten her foot impaled, her leg nearly broken and almost fatally stabbed through the heart. Lucas saved her then...

_"Shut up... just shut up and stay away from me! I hate you!"_

Her heart suddenly felt heavy, and she felt very ill...

He wasn't going to be here to save her this time.

She almost thought like she was going to pass out from the simple terror she was feeling now. She was alone... alone with a town blocked off by the largest army in the world, and stuck inside with one of the most powerful weapons in the world. There was no conceivable way she'd be able to get back to the preschool and retrieve her motorcycle so she could escape, not with PSIber-Silver hot on her heels...

She stopped moving backward.

"Damn... I really blew it today... didn't I...?" She was starting to laugh. "I'm probably going to die now, all because I lost my cool for one second..."

Funny... she could practically feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins now.

She drew her switchblades from her belt and got into a fighting stance, staring down the stoic PSIber-Silver.

Suddenly... she wasn't so afraid anymore.

"Well... I'm not going without a fight." she declared. "You're going to have to _kill _me before you can get anything out of me!"

"Do not be foolish." PSIber-Silver told Lanette, not so much as flinching. "I am a weapon designed to terminate Psychokinetics with lethal force. You are an average teenage female. To enter conflict with me is suicide."

"I used to think that." Lanette admitted. "Then I saw you get your ass handed to you by Lucas." She was _so _going to die for that taunt... but then again, she thought she was going to die anyway. Impending doom had a funny effect on people, apparently.

"Inquiry: was that an attempt to aggravate me?" PSIber-Silver asked. Did that insult go right over her head? "Pointless. I am a machine. I do not feel emotion."

Lanette shrugged. "Okay, fine..." She motioned for PSIber-Silver to "bring it." "Let's see if you can feel _pain _then, you fucking tin can!"

"Exception: subject's threat level is too low to warrant the use of combat mode. Defense mode on stand-by."

This made her angry. If she didn't know better, she could've sworn this poor imitation of a human being just _insulted_ her. "Oh, so you want _me_ to come to _you_, is that it? Fine by me!" Lanette brandished her knives and charged forward without a second thought. If she was going to die, she was going to go out fighting.

But the countermeasure was something she didn't expect.

It was neither in the form of one of her blades, nor any sudden movements of her freakishly-still body. Her eyes glowed, and a wave of green-yellow, eight-pointed star shapes fired out of her visor. They came so fast that Lanette had virtually no time to react, engulfed in the strange beam completely. She felt no pain, but her body... suddenly just stopped working. Her knives dropped from her hands and clattered against the ground as she collapsed in a shuddering and twitching heap, the impact enough to make her release the breath she wasn't aware she was holding.

The fight was over before it began.

"Wha... _what the hell_... _is this_!" she shouted.

"PSI Wavelength: PK Paralysis. Induces a state of shock within the target." PSIber-Silver answered for her. _Now _she was moving, right towards her.

_"Shit... move damn you,_ move_!"_ Lanette mentally screamed at her body, desperately trying to get herself away from the angel of death casually advancing on her. But all that her body could manage were spastic twitches that she had no control over. _"Why can't I move!"_ It was almost sickening, the way her head had wound up positioned when she fell; it gave her a _perfect_ view of how close PSIber-Silver was to her. _"_Move_, damnit!" _But_ i_t was no use.

All too soon, she loomed above her powerless body. "If you will not answer my inquiry about the location of 'Nowhere Boy' Lucas willingly, then a mental scan is required."

"M-mental... scan...?" Lanette stuttered, the paralysis not disabling but quite hindering her ability to speak. "What the hell are you... talking about!"

"PSI Wavelength: PK Telepathy. Allows the user to analyze the mind of the target."

Her skin paled. Was she... serious? The mind-reading power of Psychokinetics could be taken that far? Now she _really _regretted asking. She knelt down in front of her, her hand descending on her forehead...

She couldn't move. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get away. She was about to know everything... she was going to find Lucas. And then... she was probably going to kill her. It was what these wretched machines were made for: killing things.

And she didn't even get to fight back... she was just going to die pathetically.

She messed up. No friends, no grand adventure. She messed up, and now she was going to die for it.

_"I... I'm sorry... Lucas..."_

She shut her eyes tightly and prepared for oblivion...

"_Get away from her_!"

"Ah!"

The sudden shout and the grunt of surprise from her would-be executioner made her eyes snap back open, in time to see her flying over her body, and hearing fall and clatter to the pavement behind her. Now, someone else stood in her place...

"Lu... cas...?"

He knelt down in front of her. "Lanette, are you alright? What did she do to you?" he asked.

"Pa... ralysis..."

Paralysis... he immediately knew what was wrong, and went straight to work. He touched the exposed skin of her arm and concentrated... and suddenly she was awash with a revitalizing sensation in her body. From where he touched her, warm was spreading out along her being... was this what PK Healing felt like? She experimented with her hands, balling them into fists and wiggling her toes, making sure that she had control over her movement again.

As soon as she appeared to be alright, Lucas stepped between her and the recovering PSIber-Silver, who was already back on her feet. "_You_!" he growled. "How _dare _you try to force your way into her mind!"

Lanette crawled back a bit... he was... angry. _Very _angry. "Lucas...?"

"New arrival. Subject identified as 'Nowhere Boy' Lucas. Threat level S. Current bounty: undetermined." Apparently his accusations fell on deaf ears; PSIber-Silver appeared completely ignorant of his rage. "Initiating combat mode."

"Crap... stay behind me!" he told Lanette, holding his hands in front of him. The green hexagon of his Formless PSI wavered into existence in front of him.

Evidently the memory of what happened when she was struck by the attack she knew was coming was still fresh on her mind; the minute she saw that green light, four of her blades hovered in front of her and formed a wall of silver light. But she was doing more than attempting to stop the attack. "Unknown psychokinetic wavelength detected. Analyzing."

The destructive energy surged forth, and this time Lanette could feel the force through the air from behind him. It wasn't the first time she'd been near him when he used Formless PSI, but... she'd never felt this _pressure _before. Was this also a result of his anger, causing him to put more effort into the attack? She wasn't sure what frightened her more, that Lucas was capable of this when he was angry... or that PSIber-Silver's barrier of light was doing a good job in stopping it. She was just happy not to be in between the two of them right now.

Seeing that his signature move wasn't pushing the enemy back, he discontinued it and rushed at her, beginning the fight proper. "Analysis incomplete. Operation on standby." drolled PSIber-Silver as her shield vanished, but the blades that generated it continued to hover in front of her, taking the shape of some sort of spinning drill. She propelled herself over the ground at Lucas, intent on running him through. She was faster and deadlier than him in terms of weaponry... but his reflexes and his cunning were still not to be underestimated. He jumped over the blades at the last moment and activated Offense Up while airborne, just before planting both of his feet into her face. Her flight direction was suddenly reversed, doing an unintentional backflip, but managing to land upright while skidding backward on the pavement. The attacking blades weren't so graceful, clattering to the ground around him. Her face reddened where the soles of his shoes impacted, but while her system registered the damage on her visor's heads-up display, she showed no signs of feeling it.

Lucas didn't miss a beat. The moment he flipped over from the kick and landed, his arms surged the energy of his Formless PSI and let it loose on her again. She didn't fail to keep up this time, the remaining four blades behind her flying into position in front of her to generate the barrier.

"Psychokinetic wavelength analysis complete. Begin termination."

This time, Lucas' attack didn't stop. He kept trying, intent on smashing through that barrier. He'd destroyed those blades before, hadn't he? He intensified the attack like before. Lanette shuddered when she felt the wind pick up again...

But from her ringside seat of the battle, her eyes saw something that his could not in his state of focus: the blades scattered around his body were starting to move, floating back up to the air slowly. "Lucas, look out!" she shouted to him. "The blades!"

The PSI petered out as he heeded her warning, looking around him and leaping forward out of instinct when he saw the threat. He had just _barely _avoided being skewered, one of the blades whiffing over his head so close that he could feel the wind pass by him. But when he looked up, PSIber-Silver was standing above him, barrier down with her other four blades ready to succeed where the previous ones failed. But they didn't hit their target either, events of the last battle repeating themselves as the net of yellow, octagonal panels that is PK Counter appeared between them and him. Just like before, even when the remaining four blades joined in, the barrier stood strong.

And also just like before, they were scattered in all directions, like shrapnel from a bomb explosion. But this time, PSIber-Silver was not surprised. Lucas got back up, ready to launch a point blank psychokinetic blast – but she decided it was his turn to suffer an attack from point blank, in the form of PK Paralysis. The star shapes engulfed him immediately, and his body went limp...

Lanette's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no..." she muttered breathlessly.

...But then the green hexagon that preceded his Formless PSI was began to form not at the ends of his fingers, but in front of his forehead.

PK Paralysis disabled the body, _not_ the mind. Hands were good for aiming PSI, but they weren't a requirement to _use _it. It could be used from anywhere in the body.

PSIber-Silver realized her mistake much too late, and she paid for it, caught dead center in the torrent of green hexagons. Her heads-up display blared warning signs and even turned to static once or twice as her body flew back with the attack, until she landed on her back a few feet away from him.

Lanette let out a shaky sigh of relief.

It wasn't long before Lucas' skin was awash with the green light of PK Healing, purging the paralysis from his body and allowing him to stand. He was back on PSIber-Silver in an instant, who was also getting up, but he put a stop to that by standing over her and using PK Flash. Lanette only barely had time to cover her own eyes from the attack she'd recognized, but PSIber-Silver wasn't so fortunate. When the blinding green light dimmed, her whole body lost its motor functions and laid back on the ground. In an ironic turn of events, the random effect of PK Flash forced her to endure the same PK Paralysis that she'd used on them both earlier. "Crit... ical error..." her voice crackled.

He looked down at her for a moment, just staring... the rage he felt for the old woman was returning. She had tried to do to Lanette what _she_ did to _him_, trying to literally rip a hole in her mind for her to enter through. To expose the innermost thoughts and feelings of someone, to violate their very soul... to have it happen to him was scarring. If it was going to happen to her...

"_You_..."

He grabbed PSIber-Silver by her chestplate, once again channeling his PSI into his arms to give him the strength to lift her up.

"What right do you have... to rip her mind apart like that...?"

His voice was low, venomous... a kind of intimidation that Lanette didn't think the little boy was capable of displaying. But how much did she know about him, really? She had yet to see his ugly side until now, and it was something she would've rather remained blissfully unaware of. But if PSIber-Silver was frightened, she either would not or simply could not express it. Her mouth did not quiver, and her eyes showed nothing while covered by her visor.

"What right do you have to _violate her_!"

His voice rose so suddenly that it literally made Lanette jump, yet PSIber-Silver was still unfazed. Lucas stared into the inky-black of her visor, trying to see her eyes beneath it, trying to see if his words reached her in any way... but the only eyes that met his gaze were his own, reflected off of its surface. His eyes...

His brother's eyes...

Like before, his rage vanished, and he set PSIber-Silver back down on her knees...

She might think and act like a machine, but she was still human...

Wordlessly, he touched the exposed skin of her shoulder, the green glow of PK Healing enveloping her for a moment. Lanette could only look on in confusion, fully recognizing the ability and wondering why the _hell _he was using it on a PSIber of all things.

"...Go away..." he told her, turning his back and walking towards Lanette.

PSIber-Silver did nothing for a moment, simply watching in some form of awe as her adversary walked away from her as her body recovered. It was when he covered half the distance that she finally spoke. "Inquiry: why have you not yet terminated me?"

He stopped walking.

"Subject's emotional wavelength identified as sorrowful. Inquiry: why are you sad? This is the second time you have defeated me in combat."

He turned to look at her, wary, but not showing any intent to attack her again. Instead, the sadness she mentioned reflected in his eyes. "Someone like you wouldn't understand..." he said simply. "Just go... before I change my mind..." His hand closed, and green sparks began to dance around the fist to show that it was no idle thread.

PSIber-Silver got the message loud and clear, slowly getting to her feet and retracting her blades back to her person. The engines on her back lit up, bathing the area in silver light again, before she took flight, whizzing over Lucas and Lanette towards the East...

The danger passed, Lucas continued moving towards Lanette, who was utterly dumbfounded at how quickly he had changed gears from vengeful to merciful. He didn't seem so angry anymore at least. He moved in front of her and... extended his hand to help her up. "Are you alright, Lanette?"

She could not believe it... even after everything was said and done, even though he should be angry at her... it didn't look like he was. In fact, he looked and sounded concerned. "L-Lucas..." she stuttered, at a definite loss for words, save for two: "I-I... I'm sorry..."

She hung her head low, ashamed of herself. After how she hurt him, she didn't deserve such kindness... but then he moved his hand to caress her cheek, gently lifting her head back up so he could see her face. Flushed red and on the verge of tears. He shook his own head and told her, "You don't need to apologize, Lanette. I understand... believe me, I do..."

She couldn't stop the tears from falling anymore. This boy... he was forgiving to a fault. And yet he was so strong... she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, needing a strong shoulder to cry on right now. And he didn't push her away, gladly holding her shuddering body in place, trying to calm her down...

"Don't worry, Lanette... I'll protect you from now on... I promise..."

It made her feel almost content to be like this, hearing him repeat the promise he'd had to make to her father... it was almost calming. "Th... thank you, Lucas..." she said to him, prying herself off of him and finally standing up straight again, wiping the tears from her face, though she was still shaking. "Okay... th-there'll be time to cry later... we have to get out of here before the army realizes the PSIber ditched them."

While he questioned how ready she was right now, he was in full agreement.

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With the streets cleared of soldiers and Lucas having come straight from the preschool, finding their way back to it was a simple affair. They didn't say good-bye to the people inside so as not to waste time – Lucas did _not _want to see the old woman right now anyway – and instead went straight for Lanette's motorcycle, starting it up and driving for the nearest South exit of Neo Twoson. They were as prepared as they could be to take on any soldiers that got in their way...

But it seemed the preparation wasn't necessary.

"What the...?" Lanette muttered, having since calmed down to better deal with the more serious matters at hand... only to see those serious matters sprawled out over the street either on their backs or their bellies, unmoving. There were soldiers at the border of Neo Twoson alright... but they looked to have already been defeated, seemingly unconscious and doing absolutely nothing to stop them as they exited the city limits. "What happened to _these _guys?" she wondered aloud.

Lucas was just as puzzled, looking around the area as they drove by it. "I don't see anything cracked or damaged or anything..."

In spite of how odd it was, Lanette shrugged. "Oh well, not complaining."

So they drove on, going back to their original plan of getting far, _far_away from Neo Eagleland.

...

Neither of them noticed the shadow of the old woman from the preschool behind a building at the town's edge, looking at them with sorrow in her eyes... oh how she wished she could apologize to them in person... but she knew she couldn't. She'd seen into his mind after all, and thus she knew why they couldn't waste any time. That's why she dealt with the soldiers here, so they could get on with their journey.

She ambled her way back to the preschool, hoping that in some small way she'd made up for how she hurt him...

* * *

**A/N:** I was confused on how to write this chapter. Maybe I put it off too long and my motivation ran dry... but oh well, at least it's over with now. The next verse – and the last of this prologue chapter – will be up much sooner, I swear.

EDIT: No it wasn't... explanation for that is in the next verse.


	7. Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere, Verse 7

_Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere_

_Final Verse_

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She had just kept driving.

Ever since their mysteriously aided escape from Neo Twoson, Lanette was putting the petal to the metal, trying to put as much distance between the stomping grounds of the Government and herself as she could. She didn't know how long she'd been driving, or how far from Neo Eagleland they were by now, or how much longer her exhausted brain could take the unholy racket of the motorcycle engine – and this was something she usually loved to hear. All she knew was that the imitation sun was high in the sky now, and the sleep-deprived teenager didn't appreciate it.

Indeed, neither Lanette nor Lucas had their adrenaline pumping anymore since PSIber-Silver had left them alone, or rather Lucas had spared the cyborg and let her leave. It was an odd act of compassion that probably made perfect sense to him, but it still mystified his escort. Lanette couldn't wrap her mind around why he would just let such a powerful enemy go like that. She didn't know whether or not to be concerned. It was something she would be talking about with him later, that much was certain.

But not yet. Right now, putting a few miles of distance from Neo Eagleland was what took priority, and they would keep riding until she was thoroughly exhausted.

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"This is unbelievable..."

President Norman's words were fully understood by everyone present in the laboratory room, where PSIber-Silver now lay in the center of once more. Granted, the damage done to her this time was much less, to the point that she could heal it herself when she woke up. Granted, the sustained damage was compulsory with the objectives she had been sent out to complete. But that didn't stop the sight from being very unnerving for anyone. To see her armour blackened from Nowhere Boy's relentless Formless PSI not once, but _twice _was a testament to the very real threat he posed.

The President looked PSIber-Silver over, amazed at the damage she had sustained, and appalled that the first time had reportedly left her in _much _worse condition than this. "If there's a reason why we have to find that boy and stop him, you're looking right at it, Sir." one of the scientists said to him while his fingers clamoured away at his terminal. He was so focused on his computer screen that he didn't even look at his superior, and the man in question was too focused on the superweapon to face him anyway.

"Right. Speaking of that." the Vice President addressed the scientist, hobbling over to him as if he weren't at all disturbed by last night's events. In fact, everyone present daresay he was quite chipper. "Did she do her job? Scan his wavelength, I mean."

"The complete analysis should be on the main viewer right about... _now_." He replied, emphasizing the end of that sentence with a hard press of the Return key. All eyes were on the large flatscreen on the other end of the room now, where various mathematical tables and charts suddenly popped up.

The jaws of everyone in the room figuratively hit the floor.

There were three types of white-on-black tables displayed. The first, which took up almost the entire top half of the screen but stopped short two-thirds of the way to the right, was something that looked like the speech pattern from a voice recording. Beside it, taking up the remaining space on the right and extending to the bottom, was a bar graph. And whatever was on the bottom-left was occupied with various numbers and percentages. At first glance there was one similarity between all the information displayed, and that was that all of the values were incredibly large to the point where some of the voice-like pattern and bars stretched to the borders of their chart or, in some cases, went _off _the chart. All of the values were above seventy percent, and some went much higher than even a hundred.

"My _God_..." "Those numbers _cannot _be right!"

Save for those two scientists, everyone else was dumbstruck. It took a moment for the one who flagged the analysis up to regain his voice, who apparently hadn't taken a close look at the information before displaying it. "I... I'm serious, that's what the analysis returned." He stammered. "Good Lord... no wonder she's was a wreck last time..."

"I've never seen scan values that high before." spoke another scientist. "Not since PSIber-Pearl and Old Man, at least."

Struck with curiousity, the scientist controlling the monitor saw fit to open two other scan files, each belonging to the people his colleague mentioned. Nowhere Boy's readings were squished to the side in order to make room for all three of them. The minimums and maximums of the values for Nowhere Boy, PSIber-Pearl and Old Man varied, but their overall totals were nearly identical.

"I don't understand this." another scientist spoke up. "Those numbers have only been reached by people who have been to the Eight Sanctuaries. Nowhere Boy is _still looking for them_. There's no way his underdeveloped child mind had that much power to begin with." he explained, unintentionally succeeding in scaring himself with the words. "Where is he _getting it from_?"

It was an interesting and terrifying mystery he posed onto everyone. Another potential mother lode of psychokinetic power that they didn't know about? And he was currently seeking even _more _power... the notion didn't sit well with anyone. If he were to successfully reach all of the Sanctuaries...

"Wait." Another scientist said, apparently having noticed something. "Highlight the emotional wavelength readings."

He did as he was told, and the sections of the screen were quickly replaced by the emotional wavelength values of all three scans. The difference between them couldn't be any larger: PSIber-Pearl's reading was seventy-three percent, Old Man's was eighty-five, but Nowhere Boy's eclipsed them all with a monstrous _one-hundred and forty-six_.

"And... what's that supposed to _mean_?" Vice President Edel inquired. "Is he super-emotional or something?"

"I think this might be the cause of PSIber-Silver's glitches rearing their ugly heads."

Now the scientist had everyone's attention, the question about the origins of Lucas' power temporarily forgotten.

"Take a look at this from when she was latest hit by that Formless PSI." He took over the feed from the main viewer, replacing the wavelength analysis data with a large jumble of programming code on the left, and on the right was a still image of PSIber-Silver's unsettling first-person perspective of taking Nowhere Boy's Formless PSI at point-blank. A single line was highlighted in the code was then highlighted near the bottom:

_ERROR: Cerebral Dampening Interface overloaded. Restarting._

For a moment, there was nothing but dead silence.

"...You're kidding me." Edel deadpanned, definitely not pleased with what he was seeing. "It's this bullshit _again_?"

"Yes, Sir."

The confirmation was accompanied by groans and facepalms from everyone in the room.

The grand mystery of PSIber-Silver's malfunction was solved... and no one was pleased at the final answer. The Cerebral Dampening Interface was exactly what it sounded like: a system meant to slow down and divert brain functions. Rather than listen solely to her own thoughts, she was instead guided by the PSIber System she used. It was a measure for her to better manage her psychokinetic abilities and not let them go out of control, in exchange for forfeiting her free will.

"I was told that this issue was _fixed_, Mister Langley." Norman told him.

"So was I, Sir." he replied, equally irritated by these results. "But apparently Nowhere Boy's PSI is just too much for the program to take. We never accounted for another Psychokinetic as strong as Old Man, much less with such unprecedented emotional wavelength readings. It recovers, yes, but it takes time. And any number of things could go wrong in that time, such as PSIber-Silver's sudden decision to attack people other than the Psychokinetic last time they fought, or..." he paused. "...why she didn't just stab the shit out of him right after he healed her _this _time."

Not preparing for another Psychokinetic in Old Man's league was an error everyone in the room was guilty of, including the President, but he still wasn't pleased with this oversight. "I don't care how unlikely it is that this boy has the skills necessary to undo PSIber-Silver's programming. You still should've accounted for it." he told the scientists bluntly. They shrunk into their chairs in shame, knowing full well that he was right. "Will this affect the other PSIbers? And can it be fixed?"

"Other than taking the physical damage that comes from Formless PSI, the other PSIbers shouldn't have this problem. PSIber-Silver is the only one with the CDI, after all." the first scientist replied. "Fixing the issue, though... that's another story. The CDI is a sensitive core program, and to revamp it without damaging her would require a full overhaul of her system. Even with Mister Cain's files... even if Steven _himself_ was here to help, it could take days or even _weeks _to complete."

That information was a downer. "Damn." Edel cursed under his breath. "First this boy with PSIber-Silver's only weakness comes out of nowhere, and the only one who can fix her just _had_ to kick the bucket... Old Man's passing was supposed to mark the _end_of all this crap!"

"Like you yourself would say, Edel, it seems we aren't that lucky." Norman said. His right-hand man simply scoffed in response. He turned his attention back to PSIber-Silver. "With this in mind, PSIber-Silver is effectively helpless against Nowhere Boy. Still, if the rest aren't affected by this..."

He started to ponder, pacing with his hand holding his chin.

"I wonder how strong the Resistance is without Old Man now? Maybe..." He turned to Edel. "They won't nearly be as much of a threat without him, so perhaps we can send out the PSIbers to address Nowhere Boy's threat."

It was an interesting proposition that gave the Vice President pause. Without their most cunning and powerful member, the Resistance was sure to be low on morale now and more prone to make stupid decisions. Their military forces, coupled with the files that Steven Cain "gave" to him upon his passing should be more than enough to deal with them. And evidently military forces on their own weren't enough to stop Nowhere Boy, only the PSIbers stood a real chance.

The light bulb turned on in his head.

"The Eight Sanctuaries." he said to Norman. "We might not know where Nowhere Boy ran off to now, but where know where he _will _be going. It's as simple as sending a PSIber to each Sanctuary to bolster the security there and overwhelm him."

Norman's eyebrows raised up, seemingly impressed with the idea. "That sounds plausible." one of the scientists said. "No matter how powerful Nowhere Boy is, he's still just a child, and one with a terribly unbalanced PSI wavelength at that. There's just no way he'll survive against an entire military platoon with a superweapon as its mainstay." he explained with confidence. "Even when the Resistance was at its prime with Old Man in command, they were never that bold. Nowhere Boy, on the other hand, doesn't have a choice but to charge right in."

Edel grinned broadly. "In other words, he'll be crushed utterly by numbers." he reiterated. Then he chuckled and added, "Well, I guess it _is _just one little kid and his rich girlfriend waging war on the whole world. Why were we expecting this to be hard, really?"

"True enough..." Norman agreed, though there was some reluctance in his tone. He turned back to PSIber-Silver on the operating table. "Let's just hope it's that simple, and that _this _mistake won't be repeated with the other PSIbers. I want every precaution taken to prepare them against Nowhere Boy, no matter how trivial."

Everyone in the room agreed, including Vice President Edel... though to a more limited degree than the rest. _"Although... sending armies and mainstays to guard the Eight Sanctuaries... isn't this how the Cosmic Destroyer played his game, only to get beaten by the Chosen Four in the end?"_ he wondered. _"Well... that was when he enslaved the minds of the people and forcibly turned them against those children. This time the world_ itself _actually wants the threat gone."_

He chuckled quietly, deciding to keep these thoughts to himself.

_"I guess we'll see how much of a difference that makes."_

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Meanwhile, the faction the Government sought to destroy was also in a heated discussion about the recent developments. And like the Government, they were none too pleased with the way things were unfolding.

"Hard to believe that a child did so much in such a short time, isn't it?"

The speaker among five others at semi-circle table, all of them seated at the rounded end. Six people in total, but seven chairs with one unoccupied. The room was dark and did a fine job masking all of its occupants in shadow, with only two types of illumination. The first were some dim, blue lights along the back of the room. The second were the people's own eyes... each glowed a different colour. To those who entered the room, these men and women were shrouded in mystery and imposed a sense of power and fear. The eyes of the one who had just spoke were a vibrant, sky blue, and her voice was light and timid.

"More unbelievable is that someone capable of Formless PSI is still alive." spoke another woman, her eyes glowing a shimmering green, and her voice much more mature. "Much less that he fell right into our lap."

"Only to jump right _out _of it!" corrected a man, his eyes as red as a rose in bloom, and his voice scratchy and crabby. "It's a wonder the Government hasn't slaughtered him already!"

"Well, ah guess 'da kid ain't stupid." surmised a large man that was decidedly larger than the rest, his eyes glowing a sparkling golden-yellow and with a gruff tone. "We _were _gonna force 'im inta working fer us, after all."

"Funny that you should be talking about stupidity, Heavy. _You _were there when he escaped." the one with red eyes accused venomously. The one he insulted returned the glare.

"Peace, Inferno. You know full well that none of this is Heavy's fault." interrupted a man with eyes that glowed a wavy purple, and a voice smooth as silk and monotone as a machine. "In fact, he makes a cogent point. Lucas, or 'Nowhere Boy' as the Government now calls him, believed he had a choice in whether or not he joined our cause. Taking that choice away from him at the last minute was bound to make us look untrustworthy."

"And Brain tells you what I was _trying_ to tell you right from the start." said the woman with green eyes. "We should've just let him choose. Now he probably thinks _we're _the bad guys too."

"Oh, don't get a swelled head, Lust." said the last of the people in the room, a woman with orange eyes, with a voice pretty much in between Lust's and the blue-eyed woman. "It's not like you ever saw him and had the chance to get in his head. For all we know he might've refused anyway. That's a chance we couldn't take."

The silhouette of the woman named "Lust" in the dark room visibly shrugged and replied, "I guess... maybe Old Man just rubbed off on me or something."

Everyone's glance shifted to the empty seventh chair, in the very center of the rounded part of the table. "I still can't believe he's gone..." said the one with blue eyes sadly.

"I know, Sorrow, I know..." murmured Lust, her voice tinged with regret and rage. "Do we have any leads on who did it? Anything at all?"

"I'm afraid not, Lust." Brain replied. "We only know as much as Lieutenant McGuiness and Heavy knew of that night: that PSIber-Silver was there. And we know that it couldn't have been her since Lucas defeated her, twice over in fact. As far as we know she may have been weakened by Old Man in their first battle, but for the second in Neo Twoson, there was plenty of time to repair and improve her."

"Agreed, it just doesn't add up." admitted Inferno. "I hate to say it, but Old Man was easily the strongest one here; he could _literally _tear PSIber-Silver apart in his sleep. And she's even getting slapped around by someone weaker than he was."

"Then who could've done this to him?" Sorrow wondered. "_Who_?"

"I'm going to find out Sorrow, don't worry." declared the woman with orange eyes. "We might not have always agreed with his methods, but Old Man was still one of us. I'll hunt the murderer down if it's the last thing I do."

Sorrow was silent for a moment, before nodding and saying, "Thank you, Detective..."

"...Well, back to the matter of Nowhere Boy." Lust said, getting back on topic. "We still don't know why Old Man gave him his book... do you have any ideas, Heavy?"

Heavy shrugged and replied, "'Fraid not. Tim kept me in 'da dark about 'da old man's last request until he fulfilled it."

Lust scoffed. "Typical..."

"What, did you expect the kid who idolized Old Man to go against his wishes?" Inferno asked rhetorically.

Lust shrugged again. "Yeah, I guess not, huh?"

"In any case, it's in our best interest to find him as soon as possible." Brain suggested. "The longer he remains out in the open, the more likely it will be that the Government will destroy him."

He only received nods from the other five people in reply; this seemed to be the only thing that they could all agree on with certainty tonight.

"Which just leaves one issue." Inferno addressed everyone. "How we're going to deal with matters now that Old Man is gone."

"How do you mean, Inferno?" Brain asked.

"I mean the Government." Inferno clarified. "Think about it. It was the sheer power Old Man brought to the table that kept them from trying anything bold. But now that he's _gone_, they're _not _going to hesitate. They'll do whatever it takes to exterminate the Resistance here and now."

His explanation was blunt and truthful enough that whatever retorts anyone had, they were silenced. "Unfortunately, Inferno is right." Detective added. "Old Man was the only one here who could keep the Government in check. Without him here, there's no telling how far they'll go..."

"What do you propose then?" Brain asked of Inferno.

"The only course of action we can take now, short of letting them kill us." he replied. "Kill them first."

"What? Are you insane!" Lust screeched, standing up from her chair. "Old Man would never-"

"Old man is _gone_, Lust." Inferno reminded her, trying his best to maintain calm. "And we are at war, a war that _we_ didn't even start, no less. We've already seen firsthand that the Government doesn't share _any_ of our ideals, much less believe that we even have the right to _exist_. They never approved of Old Man's propositions for peace, after all." Dejected, Lust retook her seat. "That's the reality now. Kill or be killed."

Everyone glared at Inferno. They hated him right now, hated him _so_ much for even suggesting this course of action. But by the same token, no one dared to speak against him, as for one reason or another they all ended up agreeing with his logic. Heavy let out a big sigh. "Ah'm not gonna lie, ah do _not_ like it, but Inferno hit 'da nail on 'da head." he added with great reluctance. "'Da Planet Container fiasco hurt everyone, destroyed 'der lives. 'Dey won't just let that go... and like it er not, _we're _'da ones who're takin' 'da heat. If we don't do something, 'dey'll kill us fer sure."

Brain let out a grunt of understanding. "So be it then. Whether we want to do this or not, it's the only option left."

His next words would be hanging in the minds of the Resistance Leaders for a long time.

"We must prepare for full-scale war."

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That was it, she just couldn't go any further. Fatigue had its grip on her mind and body, and it refused to let go.

Lanette didn't know exactly how long she'd been driving for, but by the time she had to stop, it was sunset. That and the discontent rumbling of her stomach were what told her that she had rode her motorcycle without stopping for _quite _a while, and neither Lucas nor herself had the chance to get a wink of sleep or a scrap of food within that timeframe, and their bodies were begging for both.

Sleep came first. They had the luck of being on a road surrounded by forestry, so setting up camp was a simple task: all they needed for comfort – though not really caring about it at this point – were a couple of trees to sit against, and Merelda had the foresight to throw a lighter into Lanette's bag of supplies, which they used to start a campfire. They only thing they were missing were tents and sleeping bags, but for now they could do without.

...

...

...

Hours passed since then...

Eventually Lanette's roaring stomach was what made her stir from her slumber. The only light in the area came from the slowly-dying campfire; the "sun" had went down, and the light from wherever the "moon" was didn't penetrate the trees very well. She almost would've said she felt refreshed after that brief sleep if it weren't for the void in her belly that needed to be filled, and its constant, indignant rumbling reminded her of that. Figuring it would prevent her from getting back to sleep anyway, she dragged herself up and rooted through the supply bag for some food...

But as she got up, she didn't fail to catch of glimpse of Lucas' slouched, slumbering form against the tree across from the one she had been leaning against. Even from here it was visible that there were beads of sweat running down his face, and his brow was wrinkled... he was having another nightmare. _"So soon after the last one..."_she mused. Just what kind of terrors ran through that boy's mind?

Her stomach was quick to derail her train of thought, reminding her to keep shuffling through her bag for something edible.

"Mmh... is it midnight yet...?" And the noise of that shuffling apparently woke Lucas up... maybe that was for the best.

"Not sure, but I'd say it's close enough for meal time." Lanette answered him, succeeding in finding a couple of large thermoses, both of which were hot to the touch, and some bottles of water. Good, she was wondering about the longevity of the food that her mother gave them. She walked back to the campfire to see that Lucas was already tending to it, applying the lighter and adding a couple handfuls of large sticks. At first he was fascinated by the tiny firestarter, but he learned how to use it quickly – how he didn't know what a lighter was beforehand baffled her to no end though. Lanette handed him his thermos and drink, before retaking her spot at the opposite end of the fire. "Careful not to eat _everything _inside, it might have to last us for a while. At least until we find civilization again."

He nodded, though it took him a minute to figure out how to unscrew the thermos cap. Inside it was some steamy spaghetti and meatballs, with a plastic spoon taped to the top side. "Civilization..." Lucas muttered. "It's hard to see anything in this world as 'civil.'" He then dug into his meal.

Lanette said nothing and simply started eating, partially due to not having anything to say, partially due to her just being so damn hungry. She could tell he was trying to act like nothing happened in his sleep, but she knew better. He was right though, there wasn't anything civil about war. Especially not when it involved the entire planet. She wondered just how long it would go on for...

No, the answer to that was obvious: whenever one of the sides was completely exterminated. Both the Government and the Resistance were taking measures to completely eradicate one another, no matter the cost. The real question was who would win... if one could call destroying roughly half of the Earth's population "winning." It was really like whoever controlled these two factions had just thrown all of their morals and ethics away.

Speaking of morals and ethics... Lanette remembered what she had to ask Lucas about. Hopefully he wouldn't take it the wrong way. "Um... Lucas?" she began to get his attention. "Can I ask you something... about what happened in Neo Twoson?"

He looked up from his meal. "What is it?"

"Um... it's about PSIber-Silver. Don't take this the wrong way, but... are you sure it was a good idea to just... let the thing go?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow at her. He knew he'd have to explain himself for that eventually. "What, are you saying I should've just killed her?" he retorted irritably.

"N-no! Nothing like that!" she said quickly, but didn't fail to utter a "Well, maybe..." under her breath...

...which Lucas evidently heard judging from the stern glare she was receiving from him.

"W-well... okay, I wouldn't have wanted to kill her either, but... just letting her off scot-free like that? I'm... just a little worried. Things like that have a way of making our lives miserable later on." Realizing the point she was trying to convey, his expression softened. "So... why? You had to know just letting her fly off would mean she'd be back with a vengeance."

For a moment, all he could do was look at her, before letting out an audible sigh and replying, "It's... something to do with my brother..."

Lanette bit her lip. His tone was significantly darker, jaded... the simple mention of a brother in and of itself meant that this was not her business. "_Oh_... i-it's okay, Lucas... if it's personal, you don't have to say anything..."

She bit her lip; no... that wouldn't do. Not anymore.

"But... we won't be going anywhere for a little while yet." she pointed out, motioning to the damaged night sky. "If you want to talk about it, now's not too bad of a time..." She didn't want to force the poor child, nothing remotely close to it. But she wanted to know what tormented him. She couldn't help him if she didn't know what ailed him.

Lucas contemplated it for a moment. He didn't really want to go into his past... there were too many bad memories. That, and Lanette stated from the start that she might not believe it... but thinking about it now, he already knew about _her _background, through means that she had no control over. He decided it would be best to tell her; it was only fair. "...I'll have to go from the start... it's a long story..."

It eased Lanette's mind a bit that he was willing to talk, if even a little. "Not like we'll be going anywhere for a while..."

"...Okay..." he finally agreed. "But... can it wait until we're done eating? I don't want to lose my appetite."

A weak chuckle escaped Lanette's lips, not sure whether she should treat that as a joke or not. In any case, she was starving anyway. "Sure."

...

Ten minutes and a pair of half-emptied thermoses later, Lucas began to reminisce...

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_You've probably already figured it out, but I'm not from around here. I can't say for sure how far away my real home is... I don't even know._

_Back home... it was beautiful. The land wasn't touched by any of the machines and stuff I see everyone use here. Tall mountains, huge forests, wildlife everywhere... and then there was Tazmily Village, where I lived. The people were nothing like here either, always willing to help each other when they needed it. We didn't even know what money was, if you can believe it, we just borrowed and gave as we needed to. It was peaceful... perfect._

_And then _they _came..._

_Some kind of ridiculous army, trying to turn the whole island into their own headquarters. Nothing like the Government or the Resistance here, but still just as bad. They messed everything up. I still remember the night they came... I still have nightmares about it... they set the forest on fire when my brother and my mom were heading back home after a visit with my grandpa. The trees were burning and falling apart around us, and then that..._

monster _showed up... they did something to it. It was half-creature, half-machine... and it went crazy. It killed my mother... my brother and I survived only because she pushed us into the river away from it... my dad was so distraught when he found out that he attacked the townspeople and had to be put in jail until he calmed down..._

_And it only got worse a week later, when my brother was so overcome with grief and hate that he went off into the mountains, to try and get revenge on the monster... but he never came back._

_The next three years were terrible. It was mostly just me around the house, my dad going up into the mountains nearly every day to try and find my brother, but he never did... and the army succeeded in changing Tazmily to their will. "Industrialization" they called it. People were either staring into their shiny boxes or getting greedy over money after it was introduced... it was just me and a handful of other people that realized this change wasn't for the better._

_And eventually, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to stop it._

_That's when I discovered my gift... my PSI. It gave me the power to fight back against the army. I rounded up my friends, people who were willing to help me, and we started wreaking havoc on the army whenever we got the chance. And eventually, we figured out what the army wanted that took them nearly three years to find: a beast that was sealed under the island that was supposed to grant the wish of whoever freed it. A massive dragon. And we learned that apparently the power of PK Love I have – what you people call Formless PSI – was the key to waking it up, using the power to pull the needles that kept it buried._

_It's hard to believe, I know. I didn't believe it myself at first. But when I saw the first needle I had the chance to pull... it was a total system shock. I could literally_

feel _the dragon beneath the island. I could feel how powerful it was. That was when I knew I had to stop the army from releasing it, and the only way to do that was release it first and use its wish. But the army was one step ahead, also having found a way to pull the needles. They found another person who could use PK Love..._

_You can only imagine how mortified I was when I found out that the person was my brother._

_They did something horrible to him, the same thing that they did to the monster that killed my mother: they turned him into a cyborg, and brainwashed him into doing their dirty work: pulling the needles. Apparently he was the pet of Porky Minch, the king of the army, and was trying to release the dragon so the king could use the wish for himself._

_It boiled down to a race to see who could pull the most needles, me or my brother, and the race came to an end at the last needle... where I had to confront him. But... I just couldn't fight him. He was strong enough to plow through all of my friends and even my dad, but... knowing he was my brother that had been missing for three years... I couldn't bring myself to stop him. The only time I fought back was out of anger when he hurt Dad, but after that... I just couldn't. I stood there, taking every hit, using my PSI to survive in the hope that my brother would come to his senses... which, eventually, he did..._

_After he struck himself down with his own power..._

_There's just no words I can use to describe what I felt when I held my dying brother in my arms. The only way to break Porky's brainwashing was to kill himself..._

_And I didn't even have time to mourn. The last needle was there, waiting for me to pull it. It filled me with a grim hope... what if I could use the dragon's power to turn back the clock and make everything right again? It was the only thing that motivated me to pull it at the time..._

_And then I saw the dragon. It was real... and it was as massive and powerful as the legends said. In that moment, I thought everything would be alright..._

_I couldn't have been more wrong..._

00000000000000000000

Back to the present, Lucas had his hand to his face, shaking as he tried to stop the tears from falling...

"I woke up in a barren landscape, with nothing but a small settlement nearby. That place turned out to be Eastville..." he finished. "You know the story from there..."

It was a long story indeed, and at first Lanette didn't know what to make of it... it was a hard tale to believe. But she knew Lucas well enough to know that he wasn't a liar. It explained everything. Where he got his power of PSI, why he wasn't familiar with technology, why he was so compassionate for the people he care about... and above all, why he couldn't kill PSIber-Silver. "So... that was why you couldn't finish her..." she realized. "She reminded you of your brother..."

"...Y-yes..." he sobbed. "It was faint, but... I could feel it... a mind trapped under all that technology... she's just another victim of this stupid war..."

Lanette was conflicted. She was happy that Lucas had opened up to her, but oh so sad to know how he'd ended up here, even if she didn't fully understand it. Losing a family was one thing... but being there to _see it_? And even have his own brother trying to _kill _him and eventually die in his arms? It broke her heart. This boy had seen more cruelty and horror in three years than most people did in their whole lives.

And even after losing everything, even after _all that_, he was still willing to fight on, for a world that he didn't even know... for a world that wanted him _dead_...

If she wasn't sure about her choice to help him on this journey before, she was definitely sure now. Lanette got up and walked up to Lucas, slowly pulling him into an embrace. "You poor soul..." she said to him, rubbing his scalp to try and soothe him. "It's okay... let it out..."

And let it out he did. It was as if a dam had burst in Lucas' head, water gushing out of his eyes and onto Lanette's shirt. A literal torrent of emotion that he'd been forced to bottle up over the last two weeks was forcing its way out of him. Back then, survival took priority; with no friends or family to rely on for help, he had to fend for himself, and that meant he couldn't be wasting his time mourning, no matter how much it tore him up inside.

But now... he just couldn't take it anymore.

"I-I'm sorry... I s-shouldn't be doing this..."

"Nonsense. Even the best of us need to cry sometimes."

Lanette didn't know what "power comes at a price" meant until now. Lucas could have the power to change the world as they knew it, and it came at the cost of his friends and family... it was a terrible burden that he had been given. He couldn't possibly do it alone...

No, he _wouldn't _be alone. She would fight at his side. She definitely owed him that much, didn't she?

It was a little while – Lanette could only guess it was a few minutes – before he finally stopped crying. He lifted his head to look up at her, wiping the water from his eyes. "There, feel better?" His reply was a wordless nod. "Good." she said with a smile. "Things aren't going to get any easier from here on. If you ever just need to stop and let it out, I'm here, okay?"

It still angered him a little inside, to show such weakness. Someone who was tasked with saving the world shouldn't have to cry like that. But still... it was good to have someone who understood the pain. "...Okay." Lucas said finally. "Thank you."

"Anytime." she said with a wide grin. "Alright, enough sappy stuff. Let's get moving."

He nodded. It was strange, but he could feel some kind of determination forming in his heart. Familiar and, at the same time, foreign... he remembered what it was. It was the drive to protect something dear to him. This feisty daredevil was his friend, and he reaffirmed his promise to protect her, and to save the world.

Lucas swore to himself, for the sake of all, that he would _end this war_.

00000000000000000000

...Morning had arrived.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, and brave soldiers of the Neo World Government. This is an official message from President Norman Schroder."_

For those bent on the eradication of the Psychokinetics, their mornings began with a broadcast from their faithful leader.

_"Brave warriors of the Resistance, the High Council begs your attention."_

The Psychokinetic Resistance was waking up to a similar communique.

_"For several years now, we have suffered from an infestation of Psychokinetics, the very people who caused the Planet Container you see in the sky to trap us here."__  
__"For several years now, we have fought for our right to exist, repelling an enemy that is bent on our destruction."_

_"For a good while, we have been at a stalemate..."_

_"...but now, the situation has changed."_

_"With confirmations of Resistance Leader 'Old Man' being deceased and a new threat similar to him in many ways now at large..."_

_"...the time has come to end the civil war that has consumed our fair world."_

_"The battle has gone on for too long now. With the only voices speaking for peace forever silenced..."_

_"...the only option left is to eradicate the enemy, completely and utterly. Because they will seek to do the same to us."_

_"Be ready for anything and everything..."_

_"...and be ready to_ do _anything and everything."_

_"By the end of this feud, the Psychokinetic threat_ will _come to an end."__  
__"By the end of this feud, we_ will _defeat the Neo World Government and prove our right to live."_

_"Your orders are as follows: first, neutralize any and all enemies as you encounter them. Capture or terminate them at your own discretion."_

_"Second: While it is preferable not to harm civilians, if it is unavoidable to do so, do not hesitate. Survival is your number one priority, no matter what."_

_"Third: If you should encounter Old Man's spiritual successor, codenamed 'Nowhere Boy,' terminate him on sight. His power of Formless PSI must_ not _fall into the hands of the Resistance, lest the war reach another stalemate."  
"Third: If you should encounter Old Man's spiritual successor, codenamed 'Nowhere Boy,' capture him on sight. His power is an absolute necessity to ensure victory against those who would seek our demise, and he must_ not _fall to the Government's whims."_

_"And last but not least, the fourth: keep all operations as covert as possible. The public must not learn of the new threat, or panic and chaos will ensue."_  
_"And finally, number four: keep everything you do as shadowed from the public eye as possible. The people may have been the ones to condemn us, but it is the Government that seeks to destroy us, so it is best for civilians not to be involved."_

_"One way or another, this conflict will shape the future of Earth..."_

_"...and we must ensure the for the fate of all, that we emerge victorious from it."_

_"Good luck, and Godspeed."_  
_"Good luck, and Godspeed."_

It was now official on both sides of the conflict: the tension and fight between the Neo World Government and the Psychokinetic Resistance in the past were simply premonitions of what was to come. Now, the real war was about to begin.

Morning had arrived. And with it came the knowledge that after that morning, the world would never be the same...

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_The cogs of fate have begun to turn once again._

_When people do not agree, they argue. When they cannot stop arguing, they fight. When they cannot stop fighting, they destroy one, the other, or one another. One might say that this is the basic nature of all things, unpleasant thought it is to imagine. And yet from the ashes of this destruction, new life can form._

_This conflict was now reaching the destructive phase. Will the conflict end prematurely? Will the driving powers' mutual destruction end everything? Or will it give birth to new life in the end? To say how it will all end is impossible._

_The only thing that can be said with certainty is that change is coming. And this change will shake the very foundations of the world..._

**_PROLOGUE: END_**

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Hoo boy... where do I start._

_First of all, I want to apologize for the long, __long__ time it took for me to upload this. Somewhere along the line I'd... just gotten terribly lazy. This has actually been done for a while, I just didn't put it up._

_Secondly, the previous chapters were touched up a bit. Minor things, nothing that affects the story as you knew it, so you don't have to go and re-read it if you don't want to._

_Third and finally, I'm probably not going to be writing __Doomsday__ for a good, long while. It became apparent to me that writing two lengthy, __serious__ stories at the same time requires more time and brainpower than I can devote to it. That, and I __really__ want to get a good foothold on __Resolution's__ storyline. I may or may not go between this and __Doomsday__, time will tell._

_...So that's that, the Prologue is set. I have a few vague ideas of where I'm going to take the story from here, but I want to make sure that, unlike my first attempt at a serious __MOTHER/Earthbound__ fiction, that I do it right, with as much care and effort as these first few verses. There's no telling when the next chapter/verse will be up, but I fully intend to keep a more consistent update schedule from now on. Taking it slow and steady is better than the ridiculous downtime I left you all with, I find._

_So, until next time._


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